Vox, a left-leaning media organization, recently announced that 7 percent of its staff would be laid off in the wake of similar moves by competitors.
In a message to employees acquired by Axios, Vox CEO Jim Bankoff explained that layoffs would affect many teams in the company’s sales, editorial, and operations divisions. There are now over 1,900 employees at the organization, which suggests that around 130 people might be laid off.
Bankoff stated that the current economic climate prevented the company from continuing “projects and areas of the business that have not performed as anticipated, are less core to where we see the biggest opportunities in the coming years, or where there isn’t enough rationale to support ongoing investment in what could be a prolonged downturn.”
Some members of the Vox Media Union were let go, according to an announcement made by the union. The group wrote on social media they are outraged with the company’s handling of these layoffs and are debating how to help best people who have just lost their employment.
The News Guild of New York also noted that the layoffs at Vox and other publications harm “the critical job of their staff,” observing that releases attributed to the “bad economic situation” never address “bloated executive salaries or millions spent on stock buybacks.”
While the firm does not plan on making further layoffs, according to Bankoff’s email, it will “maintain a strict grip on spending and consider taking other cost reduction measures as needed.”
It’s the latest in a slew of major media and entertainment organizations layoffs. CEO Christ Licht of CNN fired hundreds of employees and canceled HLN’s live broadcasts last month. In a statement to staff, Licht said that the layoffs were the result of a strategic assessment meant to “better align our people, processes, and resources with our future goals, increase our capacity to execute on CNN’s fundamental journalistic purpose, and enable us to innovate in the years ahead.”
At a recent town hall meeting, Washington Post CEO Fred Ryan made a similar point to staff: the paper cannot “keep spending on programs that no longer correspond with readers’ interests.” Ryan said he would not let the meeting turn into a “grief session” after viral footage of several employees protesting about layoffs circulated online.
The Washington Post Guild criticized Ryan for laying off features and magazine staff without providing them “jobs elsewhere in the newsroom,” even though the publication may soon boost total employment as the firm moves resources toward new verticals.
Companies in the technology industry have laid off thousands of workers, which has triggered layoffs at big traditional media sites. In recent weeks, announcements of planned releases at Microsoft, Google, and Amazon totaled 40,000 employees.
Earlier this week, reporters spoke to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about the layoffs, wondering if they portend a negative trend in economic expansion. Her response, “I don’t have a comment on individual decisions announced by certain corporations,” was telling. You are aware that we must tread lightly while discussing personal businesses. However, the number of job opportunities suggests that layoffs are at historically low levels.