American news website Axios is laying off about 50 employees, roughly 10% of its workforce, as announced in an internal memo from CEO Jim VandeHei. The Arlington, Virginia-based company cited a "rapidly changing media landscape" as the reason for the cuts.
Axios wrote:
"Cuts announced Tuesday suggest the media industry's struggle to regain the advertising and subscription momentum lost during the Biden era will persist for the foreseeable future."
Impact On The Company
The layoffs will affect various positions across the company, including the newsroom. Senior Director of Communications Emily Falcone confirmed the broad impact of the reductions.
"Media companies of the future will be leaner, more demanding of distinctiveness, more indispensable to their audience and advertisers. There will be no market for mediocrity, or widely known, or fine-but-not-essential content or work."
The cutbacks represent Axios’s first significant staff reduction since its founding in 2016 by VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz, all former Politico journalists. Layoffs for affected employees are scheduled to begin on Friday, August 9.
