Vox Media is laying off 6% of its staff, or about 72 employees, as advertising revenue decreased amid the coronavirus quarantines.
Most of the layoffs were suspended by the company earlier this year, Chief Executive Jim Bankoff said in an email to employees obtained by CNBC. Vox is eliminating roles that “have experienced substantial changes in workload or business priority; in some cases they are in areas experiencing strategic change accelerated by the crisis and its accelerated changes in our industry.”
Some other unlicensed employees will also be affected, Bankoff said. Vox is bringing back the 30% of employees it laid off in the spring. CNBC reported on the impending layoffs earlier this week.
While Vox hit its revenue targets during the first two months of 2020, Vox was 40% less than expected for the second quarter and plans to lose its annual target by 25%, two of the people said, CNBC reported.
Media companies in the United States have had to cut wages and staff during the coronavirus pandemic to make up for lost advertising revenue. Vox avoided layoffs earlier this year with pay cuts and leave. Vox will reinstate full wages after temporarily cutting wages in May, excluding Bankoff and its executive team, Bankoff said.
“When we merged with New York Media last year, we did everything we could to avoid layoffs, and as a result, we were the only recent media merger that kept its teams intact,” Bankoff said in the note. “We hope, based on our current perspective, that the difficult actions we are taking today will be enough to overcome this recession and uncertainty, without the need for significant additional measures.”
Vox Media owns news, technology and culture sites such as Vox, The Verge, New York Magazine, Eater, SBNation and Curbed.
Here is the full letter:
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Dear team,
With deep sadness, and as a consequence of the pandemic and its devastating impact on the economy, I am writing to inform you that today we will inform some of our colleagues that they will no longer have a job at Vox Media.
It goes without saying that COVID-19 has had an impact that no one could have anticipated. Obviously, first of all, we recognize the tragedy and scale of the public health crisis. In the resulting economic downturn in the media and other industries, companies are reorienting their operations to cut expenses and conserve cash while remaining nimble in an enormously unpredictable environment. While our work and efforts have never been stronger or more relevant, Vox Media is not without the pain caused by the pandemic. Like others, we have had to make difficult decisions to position our business for long-term growth, success, and financial sustainability. As we do so, we are making every reasonable effort to save as many jobs as possible and prioritize the health, safety, and well-being of those who will leave and who will remain in our company.
We will fire 6% of our employees. These layoffs include colleagues without permission, as well as other employees who did not have permission. The affected roles have undergone substantial changes in workload or business priority; in some cases they are located in areas that are experiencing a strategic change accelerated by the crisis and its accelerated changes in our industry. Most of those affected today were fired in May. We have already recovered or will recover nearly 30% of suspended employees who did not accept purchases.
Our hope in May was that the business would recover in the following months. As we discussed last week’s hands, it is becoming increasingly clear that the second half of the year will not bounce anywhere near our pre-COVID forecasts. Furthermore, as cases tragically increase across the country and many of our elected leaders avoid decisive action, we have very limited visibility into the timing or strength of a recovery.
As we have said since the beginning of the crisis and we hope to demonstrate it from our actions in the last five months, our priority in this pandemic has been the well-being of our team. Consequently, affected employees will receive health insurance and severance packages that recognize the unprecedented circumstances of the crisis.
I also hope it is clear that we are a company that does not take these actions lightly. Neither today’s permits nor actions were considered before this pandemic. In fact, as I mentioned earlier, when we merged with New York Media last year we went to great lengths to avoid layoffs, and as a result we were the only recent media merger to keep its teams intact.
From our current perspective, we hope that the difficult actions we are taking today will be enough to weather this recession and uncertainty, without the need for significant additional measures. Even with costs in mind, when necessary and possible, we will be reinvesting in our business and our people in ways that are critical to building the leading modern media company during this time:
- We will continue to prioritize our work of diversity, equity and inclusion, investing in alliances that promote this work and incorporating the responsibility for this work in each of our networks and lines of business.
- We will reestablish full wages as planned, after the temporary and phased wage cut we implemented in May. We believe it is crucial to fully compensate our employees for their work during a time when they have performed so well under such stressful conditions. The only exceptions are me and my executive team, who will continue our reductions.
- We will prioritize professional development and evaluate promotions for those in a new role or who do substantially different work from before or during the crisis.
- And, in the areas where we will be growing, we will hire critical open business managers in new roles aligned with our company’s priorities.
For those affected, thank you for all you have created, built, supported, produced, sold, and the countless other contributions you have made to our work at Vox Media. The decisions made today are not a reflection of their work or success, but of a devastating pandemic that transformed the economy and businesses around the world. The rest of us who are not affected today will also be deeply affected by the departure of our colleagues.
I know this is an especially difficult time as everyone is also dealing with stress in layers of health, safety, parenting, loneliness, exhaustion, and general uncertainty. I want to remind you of the various mental health benefits that we have detailed in previous communications. Faced with many challenges, we continue to do our best work, serving our audiences and clients remotely, while treating each other with empathy and compassion. I couldn’t be more grateful or proud. It is his spirit and dedication to his work and to others that gives me complete confidence that Vox Media is in a unique position for renewed growth, continued industry leadership and success in a post-pandemic economy.
People & Culture executives, senior leaders and business partners will be reaching out to people today to discuss their work situation and I will host a meeting for all employees who want to attend later this afternoon.
Jim
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Disclosure: CNBC’s parent NBCUniversal is an investor in Vox Media.
WATCH: Jim Bankoff of Vox Media in the acquisition of New York Magazine
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