Mike Blake/Michael Kovac/Lara O’Reilly/INSIDER
- On Friday, Vice Media and McClatchy company announced layoffs and buyouts, respectively, that brought the number of media jobs eliminated in 2019 to over 2,100.
- The cuts follow layoff announcements at BuzzFeed, Verizon, and Gannett, the largest newspaper publisher in the US.
- It is estimated that between 2014 and 2017, some 5,000 media jobs were cut from the market.
The media industry seemed to be in freefall on Friday following the announcement that Vice Media would cut 10% of its staff and that McClatchy Company offered buyouts to 450 employees, bringing the total number of media jobs cut in 2019 to over 2,100.
The massive cuts so far this year represent a recent trend of cuts at digital-media companies that sprung up as newspapers around the country were shrinking and disappearing.
Here are the media jobs lost so far in 2019 »
Vice Media: 250 jobs, February 1
Reuters
The Hollywood Reporter first reported layoffs at Vice Media early Friday. According to the report, the Brooklyn-based media company will cut approximately 250 jobs across the company in the coming week, with the aim of trimming down and helping the organization become profitable.
"Having finalized the 2019 budget, our focus shifts to executing our goals and hitting our marks," CEO Nancy Dubuc wrote in an email to staff.
Vice Media will reportedly refocus around its TV production unit, its international news team, it's digital properties, and its original TV content.
Staff members in the US, who are unionized, are set to receive payouts of their accumulated paid time-off, 10 weeks of severance, and medical benefits.
The cuts were previewed in a Wall Street Journal report in November that said the company would cut staff due in part to audience attrition over the last three years.
The McClatchy Company: 450 jobs, February 1
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
On Friday, February 1, The McClatchy Company, which owns properties such as the Miami Herald and the Kansas City Star, emailed staffers to announce that 450 employees would be offered voluntary buyouts as part of a "functional realignment," essentially signaling that the jobs have been marked out of the budget.
The news was first reported by the Miami New Times.
The news followed McClathy's failed attempt to buy the Tribune Publishing company in 2018.
Verizon (Yahoo, AOL, HuffPost): 800 jobs, January 23
Thomson Reuters
In late January, it was reported that Verizon would cut 7% of its staff at its media companies (an estimated 800 people), which include Yahoo, AOL, and The Huffington Post.
"These were difficult decisions, and we will ensure that our colleagues are treated with respect and fairness, and given the support they need," said Guru Gowrappan, CEO of Verizon Media, in a memo to staff.
It's estimated that 20 employees were laid off at HuffPost last Thursday, including opinion writers, political reporters, and others. Nearly 100 corporate Verizon employees were reportedly laid off in San Francisco.
The layoffs are in addition to the 10,400 employees that Verizon is looking to shed by the middle of 2019 as part of a buyout program announced in December.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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from Business Insider https://read.bi/2Slk6b3
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