NEW YORK (AP) — Vice Media plans to lay off several hundred employees and stop publishing material on its website Vice.com, the company's CEO said in a memo to staff Thursday.
Vice, which filed for bankruptcy last year before selling to a consortium led by Fortress Investment Group for $350 million, also plans to sell its Refinery 29 publishing business, CEO Bruce Dixon said in his memo to staff.
It's the latest sign that the media industry is in financial trouble. Digital sites Messenger, BuzzFeed News and Jezebel all closed last year, and legacy media outlets like the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal also saw job cuts.
Once a swashbuckling media company aimed at younger audiences with an immersive storytelling style that spanned digital, television and film channels, New York-based Vice was valued at $5.7 billion in 2017.
Dixon did not provide details on the layoffs, but said hundreds of people would be affected and would be notified early next week. The New York Times reported that the company currently employs about 900 people.
“I know saying goodbye to our valued colleagues is difficult and overwhelming, but this is the best path forward for Vice as we position the company for long-term creative and financial success,” said Dixon.
He said it was no longer cost effective for Vice to distribute its digital content, including news, in the current manner. He said Vice will place more emphasis on its social channels and look for other ways to distribute its content.
As part of its strategic realignment, Dixon said Vice will follow a studio model.
Before Vice filed for bankruptcy protection last year, the company shut down its television show “Vice News Tonight” in a round of layoffs.