Layoffs at ABC, Village Voice, TheBlaze, and others cap another bad week for media
It seems every week more media companies announce sweeping layoffs. This week was no exception, with at least four media outlets letting employees go or planning to. Here’s a quick rundown:
- Condé Nast Britain said it was letting most of the team at Ars Technica UK go. Now the site will by run by one full-time employee and a slew of freelancers, reports DigiDay.
- Walt Disney Co is planning some major budget cuts, which will include as many as 300 people being let go, reports the Wall Street Journal. The company wants to shave off about 10% of its annual costs. The brunt of the layoffs will be felt by ABC-related entities.
- A few weeks after announcing it would end its print edition, the Village Voice laid off 13 of the company’s 17 employees.
- Glenn Beck announced he was laying off 20% of the workforce from both TheBlaze and Mercury Radio Arts. In the announcement, Beck writes “we needed to become more nimble and drastically adjust our approach to keep pace with the massive changes unfolding before us.”
In total this represents over 320 people in media losing their jobs. With organizations trying to figure out a path to sustainability, media companies are flailing. Some companies are “pivoting to video” in an attempt to lure more lucrative ad dollars, which probably isn’t the best long-term plan. Others are simply restructuring just trying to stay afloat. All the same, this has been a rough summer for media jobs.
Let’s hope next week there are fewer bloodbaths.
Fast Company , Read Full Story
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