BuzzFeed News closing down: layoffs explained as parent company to cut workforce by 15%

BuzzFeed has announced that its award-winning BuzzFeed News is to shutdown in a decision that will cut its workforce by 15%. The news was confirmed by the parent company's co-founder and chief executive Jonah Peretti on Thursday (20 April).

It comes off the back of the digital media company facing a number of financial challenges which includes a significant slump in advertising spending. BuzzFeed will continue to deliver news through the HuffPost, which they acquired over two years ago.

The news of the closure of BuzzFeed News confirmed to staff in a company-wide email sent by Peretti on Thursday. It read: "While layoffs are occurring across nearly every division, we've determined that the company can no longer continue to fund BuzzFeed News as a standalone organisation."

By the end of 2022, BuzzFeed employed more than 1,300 staff globally. The cuts are set to affect around 180 jobs, but some staff may find roles in other parts of the firm, it has been confirmed.

BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 and grew incredibly popular for its quizzes and viral content, as well as for its serious news operation, but it started to shift away from news due to the difficulties of bringing in more audiences and ad revenue. It was listed on the stock exchange in 2021 in an effort to raise more capital, but did not bring in as much as bosses hoped.

BuzzFeed co-founder Jonah Peretti blamed himself in a staff memo and an official statement which read: "Our industry is hurting and ready to be reborn, we are taking great pains today, and will begin to fight our way to a bright future. I could have managed these changes better as the CEO of this company and our leadership team could have performed better despite these circumstances."

While BuzzFeed News editor-in-chief Karolina Waclawiak also issued a message to staff, saying the failure was indicative of a wider crisis in journalism and fears subscription-only models will be the only outlets to survive. She said: "The implication is that only people who can afford to pay for it will have access to high quality information while everyone else will need to parse through the rampant misinformation that is widely shared across social platforms. The consequences of this are dire."

This is not the first time BuzzFeed have confirmed a number of cuts. In December, it was announced that roughly 170 people lost their jobs, which amounted to 12% of its total staff.