Vice Media Group to Undergo More Staff Layoffs in Restructuring

Vice Media Group is entering into a restructuring period that will include the layoff of a number of staff members for the digital outlet, according to a Thursday report.

A memo from Vice CEOs Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala, obtained by Deadline, was sent to staff Thursday morning. According to the memo, less than 100 people will be impacted.

“First, a number of Vice News shows have reached the end of their production cycle and have not been renewed with distributors as of yet,” the memo said, referring to the cancellation of “Vice on Showtime” and “Vice News Tonight.”

“As such, we will be winding down those productions and sadly this will have an impact on certain roles,” the memo continued.

“Second, alongside these actions, we are also taking this moment to restructure our overall corporate organization,” read the memo. The company intends to narrow its distinct lines of business into two sections, the first being publishing, news, and creative services, and the second being studios, television, and distribution.

“This is a difficult period for media at large, as evidenced by all the restructurings and changes across the sector,” the memo highlighted. “We aren’t immune to these challenges.”

Dixon and Lokhandwala were appointed co-CEOs of Vice in February following the exit of Nancy Dubuc. Since then, the company has laid off staff, canceled programming, and completed a bankruptcy sale.

Vice was acquired by a consortium in July led by Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management, and Monroe Capital.

The Writers Guild of America East released a statement on Thursday in response to the layoff announcement saying “We can no longer express shock and surprise that VICE has determined its only way forward is to lay people off.”

“Entire teams were gutted, and scores of people lost their jobs today,” the statement continued.

The WGA East then noted that the company’s handling of Thursday’s announcement was “in a typically sloppy fashion,” in what the Guild considers “another example of the utter contempt that this company shows its workers.”

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