Business Insider cuts 8 per cent of staff, becoming latest news outlet to undergo layoffs

Business Insider said Thursday that it will cut 8 per cent of its staff, becoming the latest news organization to undergo a round of painful layoffs as news companies struggle to stay afloat amid brutal industry headwinds.

In a memo to staff, Barbara Peng, chief executive of Business Insider, said the digital outlet needed to refocus its priorities and “efforts toward this future.”

“Unfortunately, this also means we need to scale back in some areas of our organization,” Peng wrote.

It was not immediately clear how many employees were affected by the layoffs. Peng said that those impacted will receive a minimum of 13 weeks of pay and medical insurance.

In recent days, a multitude of major news organizations have been forced to cut staffers. The Los Angeles Times slashed its workforce by more than 20 per cent earlier this week and TIME magazine cut dozens of workers. Meanwhile, hundreds of employees at Condé Nast protested planned job cuts.

News outlets have struggled as of late, in particular, due to a poor advertising climate and the rapid deterioration of traditional business models.