LIV Golf scaling back operations, terminating significant number of employees as funding expires

LIV Golf is set to scale back operations amidst the conclusion of its fifth season and expiration of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Funding, the league announced Wednesday. A significant number of the league's employees will be terminated the first week of September.

Golfweek confirmed the news with LIV Golf. SBJ was first to report LIV was scaling back operations.

"The funding commitment announced by PIF earlier this year will reach its conclusion," A LIV spokesperson said. "As a result, we are scaling back operations as we transition to the next chapter of LIV Golf and work toward making LIV 2.0 a reality. This week, we informed many of our colleagues that their employment under LIV 1.0 will end in the first week of September. 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."

LIV remains optimistic LIV 2.0 will happen, and the spokesperson confirmed with Golfweek that select employees will remain with the league to help guide it to its next iteration. The exact number of employees affected is unknown, and no decision has been made about how many employees may be able to return in the future.

The PIF announced in April it was pulling funding for LIV Golf following the 2026 season. Its reported losses are $6 billion. The league has had success in markets like Australia and South Africa, welcoming more than 100,000 fans to those events, but it hasn't caught on in the United States like it has in other parts of the world.

CEO Scott O'Neil shared earlier this month that a lead investor has signed a term sheet for at least $250 million to help build LIV 2.0. O'Neil has held multiple meetings with players in recent weeks to keep them informed of the next steps, which is likely to result in a 10-event schedule with reduced purses.

"I think about our evolution pretty simply," O'Neil said at LIV Golf Indianapolis. "In this next chapter is fundamentally different. We are building towards a league majority owned by its players, and I want you to think about just for a minute what that means. Players aren't simply playing for LIV Golf. They have an opportunity to own it."

Numerous players, including Jon Rahm, are still reportedly owed millions from their original contracts with the league, though the league is expected to give players equity in the new league to offset those figures.

"Ultimately, it's about building LIV into a sustainable sports business for the longer term," O'Neil said. "You might ask yourself why I'm so optimistic. I think the pieces are coming together right now exactly the way we'd hope. We have an ambitious lead investor with real resources, relationships and the belief and power of golf to think long-term."

But before LIV can get to its next chapter, it has to downsize from its first mission.

Cameron Jourdan is an assistant editor of Golfweek, covering college and amateur golf, the PGA Tour and plenty more. Follow Cameron on X/Twitter (@Cam_Jourdan) or Instagram (@GolfweekJourdan).