Vice Media is cutting 250 jobs globally as it seeks to achieve profitability. It is the latest round of layoffs as the media industry contracts.
The cuts affect about 10 percent of Vice's 2,500 staff, said company spokeswoman Danielle Carrig. But she said Vice plans to add jobs as well in departments including sales and digital news as it focuses on its units with potential for growth.
The media industry has been facing a wave of layoffs as Facebook and Google gobble up the bulk of digital advertising dollars.
Also on Friday, newspaper publisher McClatchy said it will offer voluntary buyouts to 13 percent of its staff, about 450 people.
Digital media company BuzzFeed said last week it is cutting 200 people. Verizon is cutting about 800 jobs in its media division, which includes Yahoo and HuffPost.
Vice has grown from a Canadian magazine to a global media company based in New York. Some news outlets reported last year that the privately held company instituted a hiring freeze and might seek a reduction in staff through attrition, but that was not confirmed.
Vice will structure itself around its five businesses: studios, news, digital, TV and Virtue, Vice's advertising segment. Its current structure is organized around its different international offices.
Avid completes acquisition of Wolftech
Avid®, known for software solutions for professional media production, has completed the acquisition of Wolftech Broadcast Solutions, a leader in cloud-based multiplatform news planning, production and publishing solutions.
The acquisition enables Avid to combine its digital-first, end-to-end media solution with Wolftech’s expertise in story-centric workflow management. News organizations will be able to increase efficiency and accelerate story delivery through enhanced remote collaboration and multiplatform amplification.
Avid CEO Wellford Dillard stated, “Wolftech is unquestionably on the leading edge of where the industry is going, and this acquisition demonstrates Avid’s commitment to transform news, sports, and live production workflows. We are delighted to welcome Wolftech into the Avid family.”
Wolftech CEO Arne Berven added, “We were focused on finding a partner that could accelerate the adoption of our platform globally. We explored a number of possibilities, but when we talked to Avid, we knew it was the right match.”
The closing of the acquisition follows Avid’s announcement on October 7 that the company had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Wolftech.
With this acquisition, Avid deepens the integration between the two toolsets while continuing to embrace an open approach in partnering with a wide range of media production tools and newsroom systems. Existing Wolftech customers will benefit from Avid’s global scale for customer support and professional services.
Ian Axton, head of production operations for ITV News, said, “As a customer of both Avid and Wolftech we’re excited about the benefits this acquisition will bring to our users and our business. Wolftech has transformed... Read More