Vice Media plans to cut hundreds of jobs, stop publishing on flagship website
Vice Media Group plans to lay off hundreds of employees and stop publishing on its flagship news website, the company’s chief executive said in a memo to employees Thursday — a stunning setback for a digital media pioneer that ascended to cultural prominence more than a decade ago.
Vice Media Group plans to lay off hundreds of employees and stop publishing on its flagship news website, the company’s chief executive said in a memo to employees Thursday — a stunning setback for a digital media pioneer that ascended to cultural prominence more than a decade ago.
“It is no longer cost-effective for us to distribute our digital content the way we have done previously,” Vice CEO Bruce Dixon said in the memo, which was seen by NBC News. Vice Media did not immediately respond to emails requesting comment on Thursday’s news.
Dixon added that the company would now “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.”
Refinery29, the company’s women’s lifestyle brand, will continue to operate as a “standalone diversified digital publishing business,” Dixon said, though executives are in “advanced discussions to sell this business, and we are continuing with that process.” (Vice acquired Refinery29 in 2019.)
“With this strategic shift comes the need to realign our resources and streamline our overall operations at Vice,” Dixon wrote in the memo. “Regrettably, this means that we will be reducing our workforce, eliminating several hundred positions.”
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