Vice is laying off hundreds of staff members and closing down its flagship website.
Vice Media CEO Bruce Dixon broke the news to staff in an internal memo which was sent out last Friday (February 16). It confirmed that hundreds of staff members would be let go and that the main Vice website would cease to publish new content going forward.
"With this strategic shift comes the need to realign our resources and streamline our overall operations at Vice," Dixon said in his memo, referring to the changes at the financially embattled media company. Less than a year ago, the company filed for bankruptcy protection before being acquired by a consortium of buyers from Fortress Investment Group.
Further details of the changes at Vice are expected to be clarified and confirmed next week.
The layoffs at Vice take place amid a period of significant upheaval for media publishing. Last month, Condé Nast restructured Pitchfork and folded it into GQ, leading to a wave of layoffs. In October, Bandcamp laid off half its workforce after being acquired by music licensing company Songtradr.
