Vox Media, the publisher of properties like Vox.com, Eater, The Verge and New York Magazine, laid off 7% of its workforce on Friday.
Affected groups include revenue, editorial, operations and core services, according to a memo to staff from Chief Executive Officer Jim Bankoff obtained by Bloomberg News. Bankoff referenced other companies' difficulties in the media and tech space and said even a steep slowdown in hiring and reduced spending hasn't staved off the need to cut more costs.
“Unfortunately, in this economic climate, we're not able to sustain projects and areas of the business that have not performed as anticipated, are less core to where we see the biggest opportunities in the coming years, or where we don't have enough rationale to support ongoing investment in what could be a prolonged downturn,” he wrote. “In spite of the dedication of the many talented people involved in these initiatives, we need to scale back.”
The company, like other tech and media firms, has had to compete with a decline in the digital ad market as more platforms vie for brands' business and a shaky economic outlook deters companies from spending more.
This is the third round of layoffs, and the largest, for Vox Media in less than a year. It axed 3% of its staff after acquiring Group Nine Media Inc., publisher of Thrillist and NowThis, last March and cut 39 employees in July, citing reduced advertising budgets.
The company was last valued at $1 billion in 2015. In the years since, it acquired Group Nine Media, New York Magazine and podcast publisher Cafe Studios.
Other media companies have made similar moves in the last few months. Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., AMC Networks Inc., Paramount Global, Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal and Walt Disney Co. all announced this past year that they would cut costs through staff reductions.
