In a move that underscores the precarious state of the upstart golf league, LIV Golf has announced it is cutting the majority of its U.S. and U.K. workforce in a bid to keep the organization alive. The sweeping layoffs come after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) decided to pull its financial backing, according to the New York Post.
The league reportedly filed its Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice back in July, which allows the job cuts to take effect immediately. A LIV spokesperson told Sportico that the reductions are part of a broader restructuring effort.
“We are scaling back operations as we transition to the next chapter of LIV Golf and work toward making LIV 2.0 a reality,” the spokesperson said. “We are grateful to our employees for their hard work and dedication in building LIV Golf, and we remain committed to supporting those affected through this transition.”
The layoffs mark a dramatic reversal for a league that burst onto the golf scene with deep pockets and bold promises, luring top players away from the PGA Tour with lucrative contracts. But with the PIF now out of the picture, the financial foundation has crumbled, and the league is fighting for its survival.
Earlier this month, LIV Golf announced it had lined up a new backer after PIF’s exit. Sports media speculation has pointed to Ted Goldthorpe of BC Partners as the potential investor, but the league has not made any formal confirmation. There has also been no indication of when any such investment might actually materialize.
LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil has acknowledged meeting with the unnamed investor, painting a rosy picture of the encounter. “You have a visionary, charismatic, driven, well-connected leader, investor, businessman who answered questions with grace, shared his vision, and I think was able to convey a lot of the things that players and GMs and my colleagues wanted to hear,” O’Neil said. “It was a fantastic meeting.”
Whatever the promise of that meeting, the financing has clearly not come through yet. As a result, LIV Golf abruptly ended its 2026 season last week and canceled its remaining events. The league still hopes to stage ten tournaments in 2027, but that ambition now hinges on securing the financial support it has yet to formally lock in.
The layoffs and season cancellation raise serious questions about the league’s viability going forward. Players who signed on with LIV Golf took significant reputational and career risks, and the abrupt shutdown of the season could leave them in limbo. The league’s ability to retain its roster of marquee names will likely depend on whether its new financing materializes.
For now, the mood is uncertain. The spokesperson’s message of gratitude notwithstanding, the reality is that hundreds of employees are losing their jobs in a last-ditch effort to keep the league from collapsing entirely. Whether LIV 2.0 ever becomes a reality remains to be seen.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2026/08/26/liv-golf-lay-off-large-number-employees-bid-stay-alive/