Vice Media has laid off roughly 155 employees, according to a Friday memo from CEO Nancy Dubuc.
The memo, reviewed by TheWrap, said 55 of the cuts will be domestic and around 100 will be from overseas divisions.
“While I often have to talk about ‘the business,’ we all know that VICE Media Group is so much more than just a business. It’s our community. It’s our voice. It’s a reason to remain resolutely hopeful in this time,” Dubuc said in the memo.
She wrote that by eliminating open roles and reassigning existing staffers to the “growing news division” that will give global sites a separate “Vice World News Section,” the company was “able to preserve approximately 90% of the roles in the digital organization.”
“The reality is that some tough decisions had to be made primarily around our digital teams,” Dubuc wrote. “Currently, our digital organization accounts for around 50% of our headcount costs, but only brings in about 21% of our revenue. Looking at our business holistically, this imbalance needed to be addressed for the long-term health of our company.”
In April, Vice pushed back on a Wall Street Journal report citing leaked documents that suggested the company would see 300 layoffs in the coming weeks. At the end of March, Vice cut salaries for some employees, shortened employee workweeks and halted 401k contributions as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the American economy and, thus, digital advertising revenue.