Vice President Bruce Dixon said in surprise Thursday that the once-high-flying media company is considering stopping posting content on its online page and laying off “hundreds” of workers as part of a primary reorganization of its operations.
“After careful attention and discussions with the board of directors, we have to make basic adjustments to our strategic vision at Vice,” Dixon said in an email to staff Thursday afternoon. Dixon said that “it’s no longer successful for us to distribute our virtual content. “like we used to,” explaining that Vice would “partner” with other media corporations to distribute their content and “absolutely move to a studio model. “
“As part of this change, we will no longer be posting content on vice. com,” he said. As part of the news, Dixon said Vice will “eliminate several hundred positions” and that those affected will be notified early next year. week. Currently, Vice has fewer than 1,000 workers worldwide.
The shocking announcement came on the same day that rumors spread that the troubled company, once touted as the future of virtual media and worth billions, was about to take down its entire website.
Sources told Mediaite that Vice workers gained an anonymous tip on Wednesday night asking them to save their stories as the online page was about to be taken down. The panic began, the sources said, and was exacerbated by the fact that the company closed on Thursday. the ability for workers to download their emails.
Dixon and top control declined Wednesday to answer questions about the site’s long-term. “The CEO and senior control don’t take many opportunities to deny rumors, which is bad,” said one staffer. “They were interrogated through senior editorial control and did not respond. “
“It’s apocalyptic,” they say.
The employees were waiting for explanations at the weekly press conference held at noon on Thursday, but did not get any explanation. Those who attended the convention were left in a state of confusion.
A member of Vice said: “There is concern that the site will just shut down and everyone will lose their jobs. Higher control is aware that other people have this concern and have not responded to it.
In the end, fears of a shutdown did not materialize. Vice did not respond to requests for comment.
Vice was founded in 1994 in Montreal, Canada, as a punk magazine covering music and other subcultures. The magazine’s covers occasionally favored nudity, drugs, and blood. By 2017, Vice had grown into a sprawling media empire, with a popular website, a television and production division, and an advertising agency. An investment memo from personal equity firm TPG, which invests in media, valued Vice at $5. 7 billion.
Then it all came crashing down. The once-high-flying media corporation that gifted its CEO a $23 million mansion has struggled to turn a profit, and bad weather for virtual media has led to its collapse. Last year, Vice filed for bankruptcy. In July, former lenders acquired the corporation. in a deal that valued it at $350 million. A series of layoffs followed in November.
Vice’s stunning downfall comes as the media industry as a whole has been hit hard by a faltering advertising market. The Messenger, a virtual media startup that raised $50 million in investment and hired many hounds, shut down earlier this year after running out of cash. barely 8 months after its existence. The entire site went offline, leaving journalists there unable to access their own stories.
This story has been updated with new information.
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