Vice Media to stop publishing on its website, lay off hundreds of employees

Vice Media CEO Bruce Dixon has announced his plans to lay off several hundreds of the company’s employees and cease publishing on its Vice.com website.

In a memo to employees, Dixon mentioned that Vice, which went bankrupt last year and was then bought for $350 million by a group led by the Fortress Investment Group, is now planning to sell its Refinery29 publishing business.

According to media reports, Dixon wrote to staff, "With this strategic shift (transition to studio model) comes the need to realign our resources and streamline our overall operations at Vice. Regrettably, this means that we will be reducing our workforce, eliminating several hundred positions. This decision was not made lightly, and I understand the significant impact it will have on those affected. Employees who will be affected will be notified about the next steps early next week, consistent with local laws and practices."

Dixon acknowledged that it's tough to bid farewell to coworkers but stressed that changes are vital for Vice's long-term creativity and financial success. He mentioned that the current distribution method of digital content, like news, isn't cost-effective. Hence, Vice intends to concentrate more on its social channels and check out other ways to distribute content.

As Vice is making changes to its strategy, it will switch to a studio model. This decision comes after the cancellation of the "Vice News Tonight" TV program and a series of layoffs before the company filed for bankruptcy protection last year.

"Moving forward, we will look to partner with established media companies to distribute our digital content, including news, on their global platforms, as we fully transition to a studio model. As part of this shift, we will no longer publish content on vice.com, instead putting more emphasis on our social channels as we accelerate our discussions with partners to take our content to where it will be viewed most broadly," Dixon communicated to the staff.

"Separately, Refinery 29 will continue to operate as a standalone diversified digital publishing business, creating engaging, social-first content. As you know, we are in advanced discussions to sell this business, and we are continuing with that process. We expect to announce more on that in the coming weeks," he added.

Back in 2017, Vice, a New York-based media company, was worth $5.7 billion. They targeted a younger audience by using lively storytelling methods on digital platforms, TV and in movies.

Dixon didn't give exact info on the job cuts but said many workers would be impacted, and notices would go out early next week. The New York Times reports the company has around 900 staff members.

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