Vice to lay off hundreds of staffers, stop publishing content on its website
Vice Media will stop publishing to its web site and lay off a number of hundred staffers because the beleaguered writer makes “fundamental changes” to its “strategic vision” beneath its new non-public fairness possession, chief government Bruce Dixon introduced Thursday in a memo to employees.
“This decision was not made lightly, and I understand the significant impact it will have on those affected,” Dixon instructed staffers within the memo, obtained by CNN, including that workers impacted by the layoffs shall be notified early subsequent week.
Dixon mentioned that Vice Media had decided it’s “no longer cost-effective” for the corporate to distribute its digital content material the way in which it has previously. Instead, Dixon mentioned that Vice Media will “look to partner with established media companies to distribute our digital content, including news, on their global platforms, as we fully transition to a studio model,” he mentioned.
Dixon mentioned the ladies’s lifestyle-focused website Refinery29 will proceed to function independently, and that Vice is in “advanced discussions” to promote the business.
“Our financial partners are supportive and have agreed to invest in this operating model going forward. We will emerge stronger and more resilient as we embark on this new phase of our journey,” he mentioned.
Ahead of the announcement Thursday, the temper inside Vice Media was grim. Staffers struggled to work amid rumors circulating in regards to the outlet’s destiny, likening doing so to “the violinists playing aboard the sinking Titanic.”
“I think most of us have seen the writing on the wall: there are simply not enough lifeboats, and highly unlikely that the skeleton crew of us on digital news will be invited onboard one,” one worker mentioned.
A senior Vice staffer mentioned the news was “crushing.”
“It’s devastating to have a group of reporters who have made such a significant impact in the world have their jobs end in this way,” the individual mentioned.
Vice Media, as soon as a high-flying digital media startup valued at billions of {dollars}, has struggled immensely lately. The firm was acquired out of chapter by Fortress Investment Group and two different collectors final 12 months for a mere $350 million.
The radical strategic shift introduced by Dixon successfully marked the top of Vice Media because the trade has identified it. Once held up as the way forward for the business, Vice Media has quickly contracted during the last 12 months, ending a number of news packages and shedding staffers. failing to dwell as much as the lofty expectations management arrange for itself.
While the outlet did not dwell as much as its personal lofty expectations, Vice has discovered itself ensnared in numerous business difficulties and government adjustments, together with the 2018 resignation of co-founder Shane Smith and the departure of his successor, chief government Nancy Dubuc, earlier this 12 months.
As the corporate explored a sale, it additionally frequently restructured and slashed its workforce. Last 12 months, it canceled its flagship “Vice News Tonight” program earlier than submitting for Chapter 11 chapter in mid-May.
Vice Media joins an extended record of digital publishers which have introduced painful layoffs in current months. Startup news outlet The Messenger shut down final month, Business Insider reduce 8% of its employees and BuzzFeed mentioned Wednesday that it’s going to slash 16% of its workforce because it plans a brand new strategic path.
The hemorrhaging comes because the business fashions that saved a lot of the news and media trade afloat for many years collapses amid a tender promoting market, plummeting social media referral visitors, and the looming risk of synthetic intelligence.
