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BuzzFeed is shutting down its BuzzFeed News operation, with CEO Jonah Peretti writing in a company memo that it “can no longer continue to fund” the site.
The company, known for a millennial-friendly site filled with listicles and viral videos, said it is also cutting 15% of its employee base, or about 180 workers. BuzzFeed News is the section of the site that produces journalism and news coverage, such as recent articles about the shooting at a Sweet 16 party in Alabama.
The outlet won a Pulitzer Prize in 2021 for reporting on the mass detention of Muslims in China.
Peretti’s decision comes as BuzzFeed’s revenue plunged 27% in the fourth quarter, prompting the business to tumble into the red. He underlined the challenges the company is facing in the memo, sent Thursday morning to his employees, adding that BuzzFeed must cut jobs and reduce spending as a result.
“We’ve faced more challenges than I can count in the past few years: a pandemic, a fading SPAC market that yielded less capital, a tech recession, a tough economy, a declining stock market, a decelerating digital advertising market and ongoing audience and platform shifts,” Peretti wrote in the memo, which was shared with CBS MoneyWatch.
He added, “I made the decision to overinvest in BuzzFeed News because I love their work and mission so much.”
The company said there are “ongoing discussions about the future of BuzzFeedNews.com,” but that it plans to preserve the section’s work on the site.
“No jobs are being replaced by AI”
BuzzFeed had started tapping artificial intelligence for writing quizzes and articles, some with the byline “Buzzy the Robot.” Some of the pieces are travel-focused, with Buzzy recommending locations like Stanley, Idaho, which it deemed “a small-town slice of outdoor adventure.”
“No jobs are being replaced by AI,” the company told CBS MoneyWatch.
It added that BuzzFeed and its subsidiary HuffPost will offer roles to some BuzzFeed News journalists, while the company is also starting discussions with the News Guild union about the layoffs.
Read Peretti’s memo in full below.