BuzzFeed laying off 16% of staff, selling Complex for $108M

BuzzFeed is eliminating approximately 16 per cent of its total workforce and selling Complex.

The bombshell announcement comes almost a year after the digital media company laid off dozens of employees and shuttered its news division.

What’s going on at BuzzFeed?

CEO Jonah Peretti told staff in a recent email that the job cuts are “designed to reduce centralized costs and to allow [BuzzFeed] to become more agile, sustainable, and profitable.”

“Digital publishers are facing multiple headwinds in the current market, and our recent revenue performance reflects the fact that a bundled portfolio approach is not aligned with current advertiser or platform trends,” Peretti said in the email, which was obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.

“More importantly, our performance does not reflect the value or future growth potential of our individual brands. The changes we are making to reduce the size of our business and administrative teams will position each brand to operate more autonomously.”

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• ‘Loud Layoffs’: What employees need to know
• What Canadians need to know about ‘quiet layoffs’
• ‘Quiet Firing’: Rights for employees

Affected employees are expected to be notified on Feb. 28. The company has more than 30 workers in Canada, according to LinkedIn.

NTWRK to acquire Complex

In addition to the layoffs, BuzzFeed has agreed to sell Complex to livestream shopping platform NTWRK for approximately US$108.6 million.

However, some of Complex’s popular franchises, including First We Feast, won’t trade hands as part of the all-cash deal.

According to The Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed is also considering the sale of Tasty, its social media food brand.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
• Sale of business in Ontario: Rights to severance
• Rights to severance in Alberta when your employer sells the business
• Employer sold the business in BC? Know your rights to severance

• SEE ALSO: Layoffs in Canada: Which Employers are Slashing Staff?

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