BuzzFeed Inc. Announces Closure of News Division, 15% Workforce Reduction Across Teams

BuzzFeed Inc. announced a 15% workforce reduction across a number of teams, including the closure of its news division, in an email to staff shared with NBC News. The move was made by CEO and co-founder Jonah Peretti, who said the company can no longer fund BuzzFeed News as a standalone organization.

The news division employed a huge number of talented journalists in its heyday, and while layoffs are occurring across nearly every division, a few dozen current employees are losing their jobs. Peretti said he had overinvested in BuzzFeed News “because I love their work and mission so much.”

The closure of the news division comes after a period of time when many news outlets had to contend with the giant sucking sound behind some of their best employees getting pulled away by the fat salaries at Buzzfeed and the very real excitement of the new, new thing and eye-popping growth. Peretti said he had failed to “hold the company to higher standards for profitability” to give it a buffer during this period.

Despite the closure of the news division, Peretti said that the company had produced a huge amount of pretty amazing reporting. He added that it wasn’t just talented journalists, but also other staff members, who were part of the team.

The closure of the news division has been met with wisecracks online about whether they’ll have listicles of the top ten reasons they went under. However, Peretti said that the company had produced a huge amount of amazing reporting and that the closure was a difficult decision to make.