Vice Becomes Latest Media Outlet To Slash Staff Amid Industry Shakeup

The list includes McClatchy, AOL, HuffPost, Yahoo, BuzzFeed and Gannett.
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Vice Media joined the pool of news outlets cutting staff in an ongoing industry shakeup this year, it was revealed Friday.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, which broke the news that morning shortly before affected staffers were notified, some 250 employees were laid off, totaling roughly 10 percent of the company’s workforce.

Hours after THR’s article hit the web, reactions began pouring in on Twitter, some former workers announcing they’d lost their jobs.

One employee who survived the cuts told The Wrap’s Jon Levine that a range of staffers were impacted, from production assistants to more senior individuals, including a producer for Vice News Tonight’s 2017 report on violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

McClatchy is also among those starting to scale back on staff this week.

The company is reportedly giving buyouts to 10 percent of employees at each of its 29 papers, CBS News reported Friday. That’s about 450 jobs, according to Business Insider.

A screenshot of a memo offering an early retirement program was posted on Twitter by freelance journalist Lindsey Wasson:

Last month, sweeping layoffs hit AOL, HuffPost, Yahoo, BuzzFeed and Gannett, racking up about 1,400 job losses in a devastating blow to both digital and print media.

The collective overhaul has raised serious questions about the influence of Google and Facebook on news, as both have scooped up the lion’s share of digital ad revenue, handicapping outlets in need of the dollars.

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