Huffpost staff face redundancy as UK news operation axed by BuzzFeed

BuzzFeed also cut 47 HuffPost staff from US editorial team in order to ‘fast-track the path to profitability’

Buzzfeed announced that it has laid off 45 reporters, editors and producers from the newly acquired HuffPost. The dismissals come three weeks after Buzzfeed acquired HuffPost from Verizon Media (AP)

Weeks after acquiring HuffPost, BuzzFeed has told the website’s editorial staff that it is shutting down the UK news operation, a move that will reportedly put more than half of the 29-person team at risk of redundancy.

It comes after 47 HuffPost employees were made redundant in the US earlier this week as part of a plan to “fast-track the path to profitability.”

BuzzFeed chief executive Jonah Peretti said HuffPost losses totalled around US$20m in 2020, adding: “Though BuzzFeed is a profitable company, we don’t have the resources to support another two years of losses.

He announced on Tuesday that HuffPost Canada will shut down its news operations.

Sixteen of 29 full-time journalists at the publication’s London office received emails this week informing them that their jobs are also at risk, The Guardian reported.

Mr Peretti told employees: “We want to ensure the homepage remains a top destination on the internet. We also want to maintain high traffic, preserve your most powerful journalism, lean more deeply into politics and breaking news, and build a stronger business for affiliate revenue and shopping content.”

BuzzFeed said it was in a consultation period with the UK team and could not comment on individual cases.

It said in a statement: “BuzzFeed has announced today that it’s begun a restructuring of HuffPost in order to break even this year and fast-track its path to profitability.

“As part of these changes, we have begun a consultation process in the UK to propose focusing on local coverage of politics, entertainment and LIFE (HuffPost’s lifestyle vertical) with a smaller team, while exploring new commercial partnerships in the market.”