Vice To Stop Publishing Content on Website, Will Lay Off Hundreds of Staffers
The company previously experienced another round of layoffs that affected its Vice News division in late 2023.
Vice will officially cease publishing content on their website, Vice.com, and will be laying off “several hundred” staffers next week as part of its restructuring.
CEO Bruce Dixon confirmed the news to a memo sent to Vice employees on Thursday, February 22, stating that “it is no longer cost-effective” for the company to publish their digital content in the same manner they have been doing so. The company is looking to “fully transition to a studio model” and will team up with other major media companies in order “to distribute our digital content, including news, on their global platforms,” as well as prioritize their “social channels as we accelerate our discussions with partners to take our content to where it will be viewed most broadly.”
In addition to the discontinuation of Vice.com, Dixon announced that Vice Media Group is currently “in advanced discussions” to sell Refinery29 five years after the company acquired it for $400 million USD.
Since filing for bankruptcy in May 2023, the company was acquired by Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital for $350 million USD, followed by a round of layoffs that affected its Vice News division before the year ended.
The shuttering of Vice.com comes just a day after Buzzfeed announced that it is selling Complex to NTWRK for $109 million USD.
In a memo to staff, Vice CEO Bruce Dixon announces hundreds of layoffs and that the company will no longer publish on Vice dot com. He also says VMG is in advanced talks to sell Refinery29. pic.twitter.com/Xc9tl8uoYE
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) February 22, 2024
