Vox, a leftist media outlet, announced layoffs which will affect 7% of workers as similar actions are taken by other businesses in the sector.
Vox CEO Jim Bankoff said in a note to staff members obtained by Axios that several teams across the company’s revenue, editorial, and operations departments will be impacted by the dismissals. As of now, the company employs approximately 1,900 workers, having previously made two more severe cuts last year. This means that around 130 employees could be laid off.
“Unfortunately, in this economic climate, we’re not able to sustain projects and areas of the business that have not performed as anticipated, are less core to where we see the biggest opportunities in the coming years, or where we don’t have enough rationale to support ongoing investment in what could be a prolonged downturn,”Bankoff stated.
Vox Media Union stated that certain of their members had been affected by the firings. “We’re furious at the way the company has approached these layoffs, and are currently discussing how to best serve those who just lost their jobs,”The group saidOn social media
New York News Guild addedThe layoffs are related to “poor economic climate”Never mention “bloated executive salaries or millions spent on stock buybacks,”Remarking on how Vox’s layoffs and those at other outlets were detrimental “the essential work of their employees.”
Bankoff stated in the note, “The company doesn’t expect any further layoffs but will continue to employ people.” “keep a tight control on expenses and consider implementing other cost savings measures as needed.”
These layoffs are in response to other headcount reductions at top media and entertainment companies. Christ Licht, CNN’s CEO and founder, initiated several hundred of these dismissals. Licht also stopped live programming at HLN cable channel HLN. Licht stated in a memo that the purpose of the strategic review which led to the dismissals had been to “better align our people, processes and resources with our future priorities, strengthen our ability to deliver on CNN’s core journalistic mission and enable us to innovate in the years ahead.”
At a recent town-hall meeting, Fred Ryan, CEO of the Washington Post, also told employees that they cannot afford to close their doors. “keep spending on initiatives that no longer align with readers’ interests.”Ryan said that the incident was captured on video and showed employees complaining about job loss. He also stated that he wouldn’t allow it to turn into an argument. “grievance session.”
The new outlet may increase the overall workforce as the company moves resources towards other verticals. The Washington Post Guild is still involved. lambastedRyan dismissing magazine staff without giving them a chance “jobs elsewhere in the newsroom.”
There are also layoffs in prominent media outlets as well as technology companies that have fired thousands of people. Over the past weeks, Microsoft, Google, Amazon and others announced plans to trim headcounts by together 40,000 workers.
Reporters asked Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Press Secretary about layoffs earlier in this week and whether or not they are a poor sign for the overall economy’s growth. “I don’t have a comment on specific moves announced by particular companies,”Elle replied. “As you know, we’re very careful from here talking about private companies. But more broadly speaking, layoffs remain near record lows according to job openings data.”
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