Information website Axios is slashing roughly 50 jobs amid volatility within the media panorama, Axios co-founder and Chief Government Jim VandeHei mentioned Tuesday.
The Axios CEO cited the necessity to make “tough adjustments” to adapt to the altering local weather in a memo to staffers.
“We’re making some tough adjustments to adapt quick to a quickly altering media panorama,” he mentioned. “We’re eliminating about 50 positions to get forward of tectonic shifts within the media, expertise and reader wants/ habits. This can be a painful however crucial transfer to tighten our strategic focus and shift funding to our core progress areas.”
VandeHei mentioned impacted workers could be notified about severance packages, including that almost all pink-slipped staffers will depart the corporate on Friday.
Axios employes roughly 500 folks.
The exec, who launched Axios with fellow former Politico journalists Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz in 2016, expressed unhappiness in regards to the layoffs and took accountability for the upheaval, saying: “The proper solution to deal with that is forthrightly and transparently.”
VandeHei, who sold Axios to Cox Enterprises in 2022 for $525 million, tried to melt the blow of the layoffs, including:
“This isn’t a mirrored image on anybody’s work — it’s due to adjustments within the media enterprise. In case you’re understandably upset by the choice, please direct your frustration at me.”
A rep for Axios declined to touch upon which divisions have been getting slashed.
The layoffs come at a very risky time for media corporations, that are being squeezed by shrinking promoting and a slowdown in net site visitors because of adjustments in Fb and Google’s search algorithm.
Digital media corporations have been severely impacted by the headwinds with Business Insider slashing 8% of its staff in January. The Messenger, a news startup, shut down entirely on the finish of January after lower than a yr in operations, leaving 300 workers jobless and with out severance.
Buzzfeed cut 16% of its workforce and sold sister brand Complex in February, as Vice Media stopped publishing on Vice.com, and slashed a whole lot of jobs, amongst others.