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Vice Media lays off "several hundred" employees and announces it will stop publishing online content

The company's CEO, Bruce Dixon, claimed that "it is no longer cost-effective" for the media company to distribute its news digitally. The company will change its business model.

Captura de pantalla de un vídeo publicado por la BBC en mayo de 2023 anunciando la bancarrota de Vice Media.

(YouTube: BBC News)

Published by
Rosana Rábago Sainz

The communications company Vice Media is still in the red. The company announced this Thursday that it will lay off "several hundred" employees. It also revealed that it will stop publishing online content on its website vicemedia.com.

CEO Bruce Dixon broke the news. He sent a statement to employees this Thursday. The New York Times obtained access to the statement and reported that the CEO claimed that "it is no longer cost-effective" for the media company to distribute its news digitally. As of now, they announced that they will change their business model and focus on a "studio model." He explained that this will directly affect the workforce and "several hundred" positions will be eliminated. There are currently 900 employees on staff at Vice Media:

Regrettably, this means that we will be reducing our workforce, eliminating several hundred positions. This decision was not made lightly, and I understand the significant impact it will have on those affected. Employees who will be affected will [be] notified about next steps early next week, consistent with local laws and practices.

Vice Media is closing its sale from May 2023

It's not all bad news. Dixon reported that Refinery29, another Vice-owned brand, Refinery29, will remain active and "will continue to operate as a standalone diversified digital publishing business, creating engaging, social-first content." In the meantime, he explained, they are working to sell the company:

As you know, we are in advanced discussions to sell this business, and we are continuing with that process. We expect to announce more on that in the coming weeks.

The sale has been in progress since May of last year. That's when Vice Media announced it went bankrupt. It also announced that the company was going to be purchased by Soros Fund Management, which, together with Fortress Investment Group (main creditor), acquired all of the company's assets for $225 million.

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