ESPN layoffs were announced today with a reported 300-400 employees to be let go from the Disney-owned sports behemoth. The layoff reports come despite ESPN reporting a "32 percent net gain" in their fiscal second quarter.

Besides how lucrative ESPN's business has been, just a couple weeks ago Disney posted it's highest ever stock in May, reports Variety, which make the ESPN layoffs even worse if you're looking at it from the prospective of a laid-off ESPN employee.

ESPN released a statement about the layoffs, with some coming today and others coming tomorrow:

"We are implementing changes across the company to enhance our continued growth while smartly managing costs. While difficult, we are confident that it will make us more competitive, innovative and productive."

Some of the ESPN jobs being eliminated haven't even been filled, which is a relief for those employees that might have been hired and fired within the same week.

Deadspin has been in contact with ESPN insiders and they say between 300-400 employees will lose their jobs with most coming from the technology side of the company, while also reporting that ESPNU's late-night show, UNITE, will be canceled in July, and more than 65 percent of its staff will be let go as well.

Deadpsin has also been in contact with one of the employees let go, and the unnamed employee wrote about how ESPN went about firing the staff today, and why it was such a shock to many since they've been so profitable:

"This was just such a surprise. When they did the layoffs in 2009, there were rumors and rumblings, and people sort of prepared themselves and hoped for the best. With the build of DC2, and all the rest of the work going on, and the record profits. There was just absolutely no hint of potential layoffs. No one expects an employer to say, 'hey, layoffs are imminent,' but generally employees do get a feel for when a company is going to be in layoff mode, due to earnings, or watching business decisions which are made. Every indication at ESPN has been of a profitable company continuing to expand. The people who've been laid off are not the deadweight 10%, a lot of them are the older, higher paid people who are undoubtedly going to be replaced with lower wage, young, new hires. This was purely about a company making a LOT of money (rumored internally to be $500 million ever other month) wanting even more and getting it at the expense of a lot of people and their lives. If they truly cared about their employees, they could have gotten creative with options for wage reductions or early retirement options. They hacked 400+ people and will no doubt replace those 400+ people with younger, cheaper, less experienced people. Ultimately, it's up to the viewers to determine if it makes any difference to THEM how a company behaves towards its employees in real life, and not just the illusion that company presents to the outside world. It seemed a great place to work, but a truly great company wouldn't have done this today, in the way it was done."

ESPN might just be the worldwide leader, but not in sports, rather in cutthroat business practices.