Univision laid off more than 150 employees company-wide in a major slashing on Thursday, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to TheWrap.
In a statement, the company declined to get into specifics, but did acknowledge that painful cuts had been made to better “navigate and prosper in today’s media landscape.”
“We have made the difficult decision to eliminate some positions across various UCI business units. We are taking steps necessary for our business to continue to thrive, but we will never compromise our duty and purpose to inform, entertain and empower our community, which is more important today than ever before,” a spokesperson told TheWrap.
News of the cuts was first reported by The Information late Thursday night
“It was across all of Univision,” another person familiar with the matter told TheWrap early Friday. “The Fusion Media Group marketing team was cut by 7 and about 25 at Fusion TV. The rest was Univision.”
The move comes after the company scrapped plans for an IPO last month and the company’s CEO Randy Falco, announced he would “retire” at the end of this year — considerably earlier than planned, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The cuts at Univision were foreshadowed earlier this week when Gizmodo Media Group CEO Raju Narisetti announced he would depart the company. Gizmodo is owned by Univision.
“I had asked to step down as CEO of Gizmodo Media Group and with Univision’s reluctant blessing, will be officially leaving later this month,” said Narisetti in an emotional memo to staff.
“I said in my very first all-hands that I think leading and managing this special group of journalists is a privilege and something I will never take for granted. I want to thank all of you for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of what is an incredible-and ongoing-journalistic journey at GMG.”
Narisetti was tapped to lead Gizmodo in 2016 after the company was acquired by Univision from its troubled former owners at Gawker Media.
9 Times New York Times Editorial Made Everyone Freak Out
Bari Weiss: We're All Fascists Now
The New York Times opinion editor set the Internet ablaze after going after college students who she said were trying to shut down free speech. Critics pointed to Weiss mistakenly linking two fake ANTIFA Twitter accounts
MSNBC
David Brooks: 'Girl I Want Your Body'
New York Times Op-Ed columnist David Brooks offered his spin on the MeToo movement in November. But his attempt to speak the language of sex and passion led him to write some lines like "girl I want your body" and "sex is a gold nugget" and the Internet went nuts.
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Bret Stephens' "A Defense, of Sorts, for Harvey Weinstein"
The October, 2017 piece was actually titled "Weinstein and Our Culture of Enablers," but Stephens couldn't resist throwing in the trollish alternative headline see above into a tweeted description of the article -- which promptly precipitated an Internet meltdown
YouTube
David Brooks Urges "Respect to Gun Owners" After Parkland, Florida Massacre
David Brooks set passions aflame after urging "respect" for gun owners after 17 children were killed at a school shooting in Parkland, Florida. "So if you want to stop school shootings it's not enough just to vent and march. It's necessary to let people from Red America lead the way, and to show respect to gun owners at all points," he wrote.
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Quinn "Been Friends with Various Neo-Nazis" Norton
The New York Times got more than they bargained for when they hired tech writer Quinn Norton. Almost immediately after the news was announced old tweets began to emerge including where Norton said she had "been friends with various neo-nazis" and used the N word. The Times cut her loose just hours after she was hired.
YouTube
Bari Weiss Attacks Aziz Ansari Accuser: 'I'll Get Crushed for This'
Weiss risked more wrath on the set of "Morning Joe" in January after blasting a woman who accused comedian Aziz Ansari of sexual misconduct. "It's called bad sex," she told Joe and Mika. "I'll get crushed for saying this."
TheWrap
Bari Weiss Quotes Hamilton: 'Immigrants: We Get the Job Done"
Anti-Weiss Internet mobs were set ablaze after she tweeted out "Immigrants: we get the job done," in response to Olympian Mirai Nagasu's triple axel. Nagasu was born in California to immigrant parents and Twitter furiously dragged her for not paying sufficient deference to the decision.
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James Bennet Diversifies the Times Opinion Pages
Editorial Page Editor James Bennet has said his mission is to broaden editorial diversity on the Times newsroom. The initiative has often been rocky and the paper has been beset by online criticism of hiring choices, and targeted leaks by Times employees unhappy with his changes.
YouTube
David Brooks Sandwich-Shames Less Educated Friend
Perhaps most egregious of all in the mind of Internet warriors was Brooks' confession in a July, 2017 column that he once took a friend "with only a high school degree" into a gourmet sandwich shop but decided to pull a quick switch for Mexican food after, so he said, she appeared overwhelmed by words like Soppressata and Capicollo.
Creative Commons
1 of 9
Most of the recent fire and fury comes from the paper’s editorial pages
Bari Weiss: We're All Fascists Now
The New York Times opinion editor set the Internet ablaze after going after college students who she said were trying to shut down free speech. Critics pointed to Weiss mistakenly linking two fake ANTIFA Twitter accounts