BuzzFeed will lay off 15% of staff and shut down its news unit, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti wrote in an email to staff Thursday.
The layoffs will affect BuzzFeed’s business, content, administration and tech teams. The layoffs amount to about 180 people. The company’s staff totaled about 1,200 people as of its most recent securities filing.
BuzzFeed News, part of the digital media company’s content division, had about 100 employees and lost about $10 million a year, two people familiar with the matter told CNBC last year. Several large shareholders had urged Peretti to shut down its news operations.
Shares of the company have fallen about 90% since its IPO. They were down more than 27% Thursday, trading around 68 cents.
Peretti also wrote that revenue chief Edgar Hernandez and operating chief Christian Baesler decided to exit the company.
BuzzFeed cut nearly 12% of its workforce, or around 180 staffers, back in December 2022. The company said the layoffs came in response to challenging economic conditions and its acquisition of Complex Networks.
The digital media company scaled back its news operation in an attempt to make BuzzFeed News profitable, resulting in the departure of several editors. The company went public via a special purpose acquisition vehicle last year, which sent shares down nearly 40% in its first week of trading.
One shareholder told CNBC last year that shutting down the newsroom could amount to $300 million of market capitalization to the stock.
Peretti also wrote that the company is proposing headcount reductions in some international markets.
Read the full note from Jonah Peretti below:
Hi all,
I am writing to announce some difficult news. 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.
Impacted employees (other than those in BuzzFeed News) will receive an…
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