BuzzFeed Slashes Jobs at HuffPost, Lays Off 47 Staffers
BuzzFeed acquired HuffPost from Verizon Media three weeks ago and has immediately set about slashing jobs. On Tuesday, 47 U.S. staffers were let go in what amounts to staggering losses for the outlet. Along with the massive staff cuts, executive editor Hillary Frey and Louise Roug, the executive editor for international, will both be departing.
BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti claimed the cuts were made to "fast-track the path to profitability" for the company. Peretti co-founded HuffPost in 2005 with Ariana Huffington, Andrew Breitbart and Kenneth Lerer, then started BuzzFeed a year later.
In a meeting announcing the layoffs, Peretti said HuffPost's losses topped $20 million last year and without steep cuts would have been similar this year.
The HuffPost Union, part of the Writers Guild of America, East, blasted Tuesday's layoffs in a statement:
"Today, we learned that 33 of our colleagues — nearly 30% of our unit — will be laid off. We are devastated and infuriated, particularly after an exhausting year of covering a pandemic and working from home. This is also happening less than a month after HuffPost was acquired by BuzzFeed. We never got a fair shot to prove our worth. These layoffs reiterate the importance of forming a union and advocating for our colleagues. We are glad that we are protected by a collective bargaining agreement and that our colleagues will receive severance. Our union will continue fighting to make HuffPost a more just and equitable workplace, including pushing for clear and accountable commitments to hiring and promoting more people of color and for transparency around pay equity."
HuffPost Canada was also shut down, a surprise to its employees:
Without telling us they've shut down our site. pic.twitter.com/3KEndpH82b
— Samantha Beattie (@Samantha_KB) March 9, 2021
If that's not bad enough, the mechanics of how the layoffs are being done are ridiculous. According to Defector, staffers were told that if they didn't receive an email by 1 p.m. ET, they were safe.
HuffPost employees, after a year of working through a pandemic that isn't over, were invited to a meeting today with the password "spring is here," where they were told 47 of them would be laid off. They would only know if they still had a job if they didn't receive an email by 1
— Laura Bassett (@LEBassett) March 9, 2021
These sweeping, immediate changes are terrible for this industry and have been seen too often over the past few years.
Several staffers took to Twitter to announce their departures:
Today I got laid off at HuffPost, after a decade of work I am so incredibly proud of. I am one of 47 of my deeply, beautifully, funny and talented and wonderful and kind colleagues who lost their jobs today.
— Emma Gray (@emmaladyrose) March 9, 2021
I'm the most sad that we can't all hug each other. (Also... hire me?)
just got laid off from huffpost after roughly 8 years. open to new work and appreciate all help
— Todd Van Luling (@toddvanluling) March 9, 2021
Welp. After eight years at HuffPost, I've been laid off.
— Matt Jacobs (@tarantallegra) March 9, 2021
After nine years at HuffPost, I am unfortunately saying goodbye to my incredible colleagues. I'm so proud of the work we've done.
— Ariel Edwards-Levy (@aedwardslevy) March 9, 2021
If you're looking to hire someone who loves writing about public opinion, good data and awful puns, please get in touch.
And this thread contains a more comprehensive list of the people laid off:
A thread of incomparable reporters laid off from HuffPost today who you, an esteemed media organization, should scoop up immediately:
— Jenna Amatulli (@ohheyjenna) March 9, 2021
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