Verizon and BuzzFeed are both cutting jobs in online media.
Verizon is cutting about 800 jobs, or 7 percent of its media and advertising employees, as it reorganizes the troubled division.
The wireless company had hoped to create an ad business that could compete with Google and Facebook. It spent roughly $10 billion buying up former Internet pioneers Yahoo and AOL . But Verizon found benefits from integrating those two companies were less than expected. The company slashed the value of its media unit by nearly $5 billion in December.
The new CEO of Verizon’s media division, Guru Gowrappan, informed employees of the layoffs in an email Wednesday. He says the division’s priorities will now include focusing on mobile and video products and stemming declines with desktop users.
BuzzFeed, meanwhile, is preparing to announce a significant round of layoffs, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The coming contraction is the latest example of digital media companies having to make cutbacks in a difficult operating environment.
One of the sources said the layoffs will affect 15% of the company’s workforce. The reductions will involve multiple departments, including the news division.
Staffers have been bracing for bad news for days. Employees had learned senior editors were being flown into BuzzFeed’s New York City offices and cuts to staff were widely speculated about internally.
BuzzFeed has about 1,450 employees, so about 220 will be leaving, the source confirmed.
