BuzzFeed Fires 45 Reporters, Editors And Producers From HuffPost Three Weeks After Acquisition

On Tuesday (10 March), BuzzFeed informed that it laid off 45 reporters, editors and producers from the newly acquired HuffPost, reports Livemint.

Unhappy over the layoffs, Editor Hillary Frey, the HuffPost website’s executive editor, and executive editor Louise Roug also resigned.

“We never got a fair shot to prove our worth," the HuffPost union said in a statement, adding that the layoffs included nearly 30 percent of its membership.

HuffPost, the media outlet founded as The Huffington Post by Verizon Media in 2005 was acquired by Buzzfeed about three weeks ago.

After the acquisition, Buzzfeed CEO Jonah Peretti reportedly told employees at a meeting that “we will begin to restructure HuffPost today to fast-track its path to profitability. Unfortunately that includes staff reductions, and a number of talented colleagues will be laid off over the next few days."

“..losses last year exceeded $20M, and would be similar this year without intervention. Though BuzzFeed is a profitable company, we don’t have the resources to support another two years of losses," he added.

Buzzfeed is also reportedly shutting down HuffPost Canada and HuffPost Québec.