BuzzFeed Cuts 15% of Workforce, Shuts Down BuzzFeed News
Summary from the AllSides News Team
BuzzFeed News (Left Bias) is shutting down as its parent company, BuzzFeed, aims to cut 15% of staffers company-wide.
Key Quotes: In a company memo, BuzzFeed Chief Executive Jonah Peretti announced the news-arm of the media company was being shuttered, stating, “We are reducing our workforce by approximately 15% today across our Business, Content, Tech and Admin teams, and beginning the process of closing BuzzFeed News. Additionally, we are proposing headcount reductions in some international markets.” Peretti explained the decision by stating, “We’ve faced more challenges than I can count in the past few years: a pandemic, a fading SPAC market that yielded less capital, a tech recession, a tough economy, a declining stock market, a decelerating digital advertising market and ongoing audience and platform shifts. Dealing with all of these obstacles at once is part of why we’ve needed to make the difficult decisions to eliminate more jobs and reduce spending.”
Details: BuzzFeed also owns HuffPost (Left Bias), which Peretti stated will be the sole news department of the company moving forward. According to reports, select roles at HuffPost and other branches of the company have been opened for BuzzFeed News workers to apply.
How The Media Covered It: Right-rated outlets highlighted a 2017 controversy where BuzzFeed News published a dossier containing unverified information on former President Donald Trump. Left-rated outlets highlighted a Pulitzer Prize won by the outlet in 2021 for reporting on the detention of Muslims in China.
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From the Left
BuzzFeed Shuts Down Its Namesake News DivisionBuzzFeed is shutting down its namesake news division, which won acclaim for its journalism but fell prey to the punishing economics of digital publishing that has laid low many of its peers.
Jonah Peretti, BuzzFeed’s chief executive, said in an email to employees on Thursday that he was closing BuzzFeed News as part of a broader round of cuts at the company. About 60 people will be affected by the shuttering of the news division, some of whom will be offered jobs at other parts of the company.
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From the Center
BuzzFeed stock plunges over 20% as media company shuts down BuzzFeed News, cuts jobsBuzzFeed Inc. said Thursday it is shutting down BuzzFeed News and laying off about 15% of its workforce as founder and Chief Executive Jonah Peretti said it has faced “more challenges than I can count.”
BuzzFeed stock BZFD, -19.59% initially fell as much as 25% after the news. HuffPost and BuzzFeed.com will open “a number of select roles for members of BuzzFeed News,” Peretti said in a memo to staff. HuffPost, which is profitable and enjoys a “loyal direct front page audience,” will be BuzzFeed’s single news brand.
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From the Right
BuzzFeed News shuts down as parent company lays off 15% of staffersBuzzFeed News has published its last listicle.
The parent company of the site that first gained popularity with lists such as “10 Important Life Lessons You Can Learn From Cats” — and also published the now-debunked Steele dossier — is being shut down, according to a memo from BuzzFeed Inc. CEO Jonah Peretti on Thursday
Peretti said scrapping the site was part of a broader shakeup that includes laying off 15% of staffers companywide — which amounts to 180 jobs. BuzzFeed Inc. also owns the online news sites HuffPost and...
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