Vice Media Cuts Around 2% Of Digital News & Publishing Staff As Part Of Latest Consolidation Efforts
Vice Media has cut around a dozen editorial and news staff as part of its latest round of layoffs.
The youth-focused media company, which is behind series such as Showtime’s Vice, has laid off around 2% of its news staff, which incorporates people working in digital news, its brands such as Refinery29 and Noisey as well as its flagship Vice News brand.
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The layoffs at Vice come as the broader entertainment business has been going through similar changes. Warner Bros. Discovery and NBCUniversal have made a number of cuts across its businesses and earlier this afternoon Disney was beginning “tough” and “uncomfortable” decisions around cutting back its approximately 190,000-employee base.
Vice’s cuts comes as part of a consolidation effort that started with promotion of Cory Haik from Chief Digital Officer to Chief Operating Officer, News and Entertainment.
Haik was promoted at the same time as Morgan Hertzan, who became President of Global TV, as well as re-upped contracts for President, Global News and Entertainment Jesse Angelo, whom Haik and Hertzan report to, and Subrata De, who oversees all news coverage at Vice Media.
The cuts come ahead of a possible sale that some sources suggest could happen before the end of the year, although are understood to be independent of such a deal. Greek broadcaster Antenna Group, which has had a joint venture partnership with the company in Southern Europe, is understood to be one of the contenders to take over the business.
The layoffs come a year after Vice cut more than a dozen employees as its reduced the number of articles it published on its online sites as it shifted its focus to video.
There have also been some changes brought on by consolidation in the UK, with a reorganization of Pulse Films and Vice Studios. There were some departures within its scripted and unscripted production teams in London.
The company, which is run by former A+E Networks boss Nancy Dubuc, recently won a slew of awards at the News and Documentary Emmys.
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