(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) Vice Media, a leftist outlet backed by globalist oligarch George Soros, is set to temporarily shut down operations, laying off hundreds of staffers and ceasing online publication, CNN reported.
According to reports, the failing media company will undergo “fundamental changes” to its “strategic vision” as it tries to find a model that will help it endure.
Vice CEO Bruce Dixon made the announcement Thursday in a memo to the Vice staff.
“This decision was not made lightly, and I understand the significant impact it will have on those affected,” Dixon write, noting that the layoffs will go into effect early next week.
“Regrettably, this means that we will be reducing our workforce, eliminating several hundred positions.”
Dixon also suggested that the company’s digital content-distribution model was “no longer cost-effective,” noting that the company would instead try to grow its business-to-business arm rather than bring its own content straight to readers.
In Dixon’s words, Vice will try to “partner with established media companies to distribute our digital content, including news, on their global platforms, as we fully transition to a studio model.”
Vice also owns a women’s lifestyle website called Refinery29. According to Dixon, the company will look to sell off that part of the business.
CNN, which has struggled with its own viewership and undergone several major restructuring efforts in recent years, noted that it was yet another ominous sign in what appeared to be a trend facing far-left outlets in particular.
“Vice Media joins a long list of digital publishers that have announced painful layoffs in recent months,” it said.
“Startup news outlet The Messenger shut down last month, Business Insider cut 8% of its staff and BuzzFeed said Wednesday that it will slash 16% of its workforce as it plans a new strategic direction.”
In total, according to a panicked Feb. 10 New Yorker piece titled “Is the Media Prepared for an Extinction-Level Event?,” left-leaning mainstream media saw a record 2,681 layoffs last year at outlets including NBC News, Vox Media, FiveThirtyEight, Condé Nast, BuzzFeed, Gawker, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Time magazine and Sports Illustrated.
Yet, despite the bad news for Vice employees, Dixon expressed hope that the company would be able to survive.
“Our financial partners are supportive and have agreed to invest in this operating model going forward,” he said. “We will emerge stronger and more resilient as we embark on this new phase of our journey.”
Meanwhile, as his old investments fail Soros, who acquired Vice in 2023, has continued to expand his media empire in other directions.
The globalist is currently on the verge of becoming the majority shareholder in Audacy, one of the largest radio-show networks in the United States. The company claims to be able to reach over 200 million people, according to bankruptcy filings reported last week.
