Right after all the controversy over their reporting on Michael Cohen and Trump, Buzzfeed is laying off a bunch of people and telling everyone ITS FINE EVERYTHING IS FINE.
BuzzFeed is preparing to lay off about 15% of its employees. The coming contraction is the latest example of a media company making cutbacks in a difficult operating environment.
The reductions will affect multiple departments, including the news division, according to sources familiar with the matter.
BuzzFeed has about 1,450 employees, so about 220 will be leaving, one of the sources confirmed.BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti confirmed the sharp cut on Wednesday after reporters from other news outlets began inquiring.
The layoffs, he said in an internal memo, are part of a broader effort to “put us on a firm foundation and allow us to invest and grow sustainably for years to come.”
Staffers at BuzzFeed have been bracing for bad news for days. Employees had learned senior editors were being flown into BuzzFeed’s New York City offices and cuts to staff were widely speculated about internally.
Some people are really pissed about the news:
Jonah Peretti is worth, what, $200 million? At least? The fuck you need all that money for, give it to people who have less!!!
— Kim Kelly (@GrimKim) January 23, 2019
anyone who is commenting on the buzzfeed news by celebrating in any way is getting blocked. and i hope all of you block those people too.
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) January 24, 2019
And here’s the entire memo:
Here is Jonah Peretti’s memo about the cuts, which went out about 15 minutes ago pic.twitter.com/Bw8IZ1CENy
— Jeremy Barr (@jeremymbarr) January 23, 2019
So uh, don’t celebrate, or journalists will block you on twitter!