Singapore – A spokesman for ESPN STAR Sports has confirmed there have been some lay-offs in the networks’ Singapore headquarters, but not 17 as has been reported. “As a result of our drive to improve operational efficiency across the organization, few roles have been made redundant and the number is much smaller than the reported number,” he said. Asked whether the job cuts were a result of the current recession, spokesman said, “Overall, we are growing and our business has further expanded in last few years. And as we grow, we are driven to build a Progressive Organization which is future ready and is aligned with the dynamic and evolving consumer behavior; an organization where we are able to achieve operational efficiencies by keeping our costs under control while remaining focused on growing our business by exploring, evaluating and investing in long term growth opportunities. We are, therefore, constantly reviewing our resources and processes making sure they align with our overall business plans in terms of focused growth across platforms and this realignment is a part of this ongoing exercise.” He continues, “This is a part of our continuous and ongoing efforts in driving operational efficiency across the organization and is not limited to any one department or function. It is also important to note that it is not necessarily in terms of manpower rationalization but also re-alignment of roles and resources and the development of multi-skilled staff capabilities. The allocation of resources including manpower is kept aligned with our overall business strategies and growth plans across markets. The recent realignment exercise was carried out in Singapore office since majority of our staff is based here. The network currently employs over 750 staff across the region, and, asked whether any more redundancies can be expected, the spokesman said, “As a Progressive Organization, we are constantly reviewing our processes and resources across the organization to improve efficiencies. It is done to align our resources and process with our overall business plans in terms of focused growth across platforms.”