Vice Media to halt publishing to namesake site, cut 'several hundred' jobs in restructuring

The head of Vice Media Group has informed employees that the company willstop publishing content on Vice.com and will be cutting "several hundred"positions.

A memofrom Vice CEO Bruce Dixon, which was sent to staff on Thursday, explains that restructuringchanges are being made "to adaptand best align our strategies to be more competitive in the long term."

According to Dixon's memo, "it is no longer cost-effective for us to distribute our digital content the way we have done previously." He said Vice Media would seek to distribute its digital content by partnering with established media companies rather than publishing directly toits own site.

The website did not appear to have mentioned thesechanges to readers as of early Thursday evening. The memo did not state exactly when the company would stop publishing to Vice.com, but CBC News confirmed that it had already happened.

Dixon said the companyis also looking to sell its Refinery 29 media website.

The memo from Dixon also said the company will provide details to affected staff in the coming days.The New York Times reports that Vice currently employs more than 900 people.

Five years ago, Vice announced plans to slash 10 per cent of its then-2,500 staff. It has since had furtherrounds of job cuts, including late last year, and earlier in 2023, too.

The Canadian Media Guildsays it has 27 members who work for Vice. The union has reached out to themedia company for information and awaits a response that is expected next week.

The Brooklyn-headquarteredVicefiled for bankruptcy protectionin May of last year.It was then formallysold to a group of its former lenders, according to a July 2023news release describing the completion of that process.

Wider media sector cuts

The pending cuts at Vice follow others at major media companies on both sides of the border.

Earlier this month, Bell Media announced significant programming cuts and a divestment of dozens of regional radio stations. Staff cuts were also part of the changes.

In December,CBC/Radio-Canada announced plans to cut roughly 10 per cent of its workforce and make programming cuts of itsown.

In the U.S., meanwhile,the Los Angeles Times, theWashington Post and the Wall Street Journalalso recently announced job cuts.

And like Vice, other media sites with a strong digital focus haven't been immune to the challenges ofstaying afloat: Jezebel's site was shut down last year, while BuzzFeed's news operations wereshuttered.