Vice Media has told staff that hundreds of jobs will be cut as it stops publishing content on its flagship Vice.com website and moves to a “studio model”, making content for distribution by other media companies.
In a memo to employees, CEO Bruce Dixon said "it is no longer cost-effective for us to distribute our digital content the way we have done previously. Regrettably, this means that we will be reducing our workforce, eliminating several hundred positions".
According to The Hollywood Reporter, there were already rumours circulating within the company that its news website would be closed down. At a staff meeting before the memo was sent out, Vice News Executive Editor Josh Visser said “I don’t know more than you guys besides being able to read faces and notice who is not replying to my messages".
He also added, “Our website and our work being pulled down would be completely reprehensible … I cannot even understand any business reasons why you would do something like that".
After significant growth from the mid-2000s to the mid-2010s, Vice has faced a number of challenging years, as it has struggled to generate enough revenue to fund what became an extensive network of websites and programmes. It also faced increased competition within its target youth demographic from the boom in content creators on platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Twitch.
As a result, a period of considerable downsizing began, with brands and sites being closed and the workforce cut back. Then last year the company filed for bankruptcy protection as it negotiated a deal to sell the business to its money lenders, ultimately being bought by a consortium led by Fortress Investment Group.
It remains to be seen quite what the remaining Vice business looks like following this latest round of cutbacks. The changes won't affect Refinery29, another media brand owned by Vice. The memo stated that Refinery29 “will continue to operate as a standalone diversified digital publishing business, creating engaging, social first content”.