by Ben Whedon
Vice Media on Thursday announced that it would stop publishing content on its website and lay off hundreds of its employees as a cost-cutting measure.
“We create and produce outstanding original content true to the Vice brand,” CEO Bruce Dixon said in a statement obtained by the Washington Post. “However, it is no longer cost-effective for us to distribute our digital content the way we have done previously.”
“Moving forward, we will look to partner with established media companies to distribute our digital content, including news, on their global platforms, as we fully transition to a studio model,” he continued. “As part of the shift, we will no longer publish content on vice.com, instead putting more emphasis on our social channels as we accelerate out discussions with partners to take our content to where it will be viewed most broadly.”
Dixon further confirmed that the changes would mean “eliminating several hundred positions.”
Vice’s announcement marks the latest round in a string of major media layoffs as the industry contracts. The Messenger earlier this year shut down abruptly, resulting in the termination of roughly 300 employees, who have since sued the outlet, claiming it did not properly notify them.
January, in particular, was a rough month for journalists, with the firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas tracking 528 layoffs across digital, print, and broadcast news. That figure did not include The Messenger employees.
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Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.
