Vice Media has ceased publishing content on its website and has fired much of its news staff, effectively ending over a decade of info operations.
According to a memo sent to employees from CEO Bruce Dixon on Thursday, the company had to make cuts to stay above water.
No exact numbers for layoffs have been released, but according to Mr. Dixon’s memo, they number in the hundreds.
Along with the layoffs, Vice will no longer publish original news reporting on its website. Mr. Dixon explained in his memo that the site aims to partner with other media brands to distribute its content as it transitions into a “studio model.”
This week’s layoffs are another crushing blow to Vice Media, which has tried to stay afloat as the industry contracts. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May and was sold soon after to private equity firm Fortress Investment Group for $350 million, a fraction of the $5.7 billion at which it was valued in 2017.
For the last year, the New York-based firm experienced numerous layoffs and cuts that changed its output. Along with slashing its newsroom, Vice canceled “Vice News Tonight”, which often garnered industry and audience praise.
The restructuring is the latest in a string of massive cuts in digital publishing. In the past two months, hundreds of employees have lost their jobs at the Los Angeles Times, Time, the Messenger, Jezebel, Business Insider and BuzzFeed.
A constricting advertising market and slowed audience traffic have contributed to the layoffs.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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