A look at which media companies have slashed their workforce
FBN's Deirdre Bolton on BuzzFeed's plans to cut 15 percent of its workforce and the competitive landscape within the tech sector.
Vice became the latest media casualty this week, announcing on Friday that it was planning to eliminate 10 percent of its staff, or about 250 workers, as it looks to cut costs.
The Hollywood Reporter, which first reported the layoffs, said the cuts are part of new CEO Nancy Dubuc's plan to tighten spending and achieve profitability.
But it’s not the only news organization -- digital or print -- to take a financial hit in a year that was riddled by multiple layoffs, the shuttering of entire outlets and changes in publication ownership for the media.
Here’s a look of some of the biggest job cuts at news organizations over the past year.
BuzzFeed: Last week, BuzzFeed began the process of eliminating jobs, gutting its national security news team. It confirmed on Wednesday that it was slashing 15 percent of its staff, or about 220 staffers of its 1,450 employees.
In an internal memo sent to employees, CEO Jonah Peretti said that after “extensive work” over the past few months, the company had developed a “good understanding” of where to consolidate its team, focus on content that’s working and achieve the right cost structure to support its model.
Verizon Communications: Formerly Oath, Verizon Communications confirmed this week it will cut 7 percent from its media division, part of a broader initiative to restructure its struggling business. Subsidiaries of Verizon include Yahoo and HuffPo.
Gannett: The newspaper behemoth, which owns more than 100 daily newspapers, including USA Today, began slashing jobs this week all over the country, according to Poynter. In an effort to cut costs, Gannett laid off three journalists at the Indianapolis Star; three at The Tennessean; six at The Record in New Jersey; four at the Westchester Journal News in New York; four at the Ventura County Star; and five at The Citizen Times in Asheville, North Carolina.
Mic: In November, the struggling digital publisher agreed to sell itself to Bustle Digital Group for about $5 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. Ahead of the sale, Mic laid off almost all of its employees. Bustle reportedly is planning to reinvest in Mic’s editorial staff this year.
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Vox News: Last February, the digital-media company laid off about 50 workers, or about 5 percent of its workforce. At the time, the CEO cited “industry changes over the past few months," saying the organization had to change its investment in some initiatives to be profitable, according to Variety.
The New York Daily News: In the summer, the New York tabloid, which is owned by Tribune Publishing (formerly Tronc), axed about half of its newsroom. The paper employed about 85 people prior to the cuts.