The Los Angeles Lakers carried out a fresh wave of layoffs on Wednesday in their downtown LA headquarters, cutting at least 15 jobs across communications, marketing and sales as part of a sweeping restructuring led by new majority owner Mark Walter.
According to people familiar with the Lakers' layoffs, who were not authorised to speak publicly, the staff were informed earlier in the day that their roles were being eliminated as the franchise continues to retool almost every aspect of its business.
The Lakers have been in a state of controlled upheaval since Walter, who also owns the Dodgers, completed a record-setting $10 billion takeover of the NBA team in October.
The deal formally ended more than four decades of Buss family control and, with it, the long-running image of the Lakers as a tightly held, almost dynastic, family operation. What has followed has been a calculated move towards a more corporate, data-driven model, touching both the front office and the club's commercial arm.
The reports came after a series of front-office changes that signalled Walter's impatience with legacy structures. Earlier this week, the Lakers hired Rohan Ramadas from the New Orleans Pelicans as an assistant general manager tasked with overseeing strategy and data systems, a role that explicitly leans into analytics and process.
The current front office, still led by President of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka, is also set to add another assistant general manager, this one focused on scouting and player development.
On paper, the dual hires suggest Walter wants clearly delineated lanes: one for numbers and infrastructure, another for talent identification. In practice, they also underline a truth many long-serving employees are now living through.
The club that once marketed itself as a family is operating more like a blue-chip corporation, with specialist executives, leaner teams and less sentimentality about who stays.
The Lakers operated as a family business for more than 45 years under the late Jerry Buss and then under his children, a period during which the franchise matured into one of the world's best-known sports brands. That legacy is still splashed across the rafters and the trophy cabinet, but it offers little insulation for staff whose job titles no longer fit the new organisational chart.
People briefed on the Lakers' layoffs say roles across multiple departments were affected, particularly in areas tied to communications, marketing and sales.
Source: International Business Times UK
