- Vox Media has just reduced some staff and reorganized its lifestyle brands.
- CEO Jim Bankoff said the company is responding to constant changes in the media industry.
- Thrillist will be operated by Eater, among other changes.
Vox Media has reduced its workforce across its lifestyle brands, CEO Jim Bankoff announced in a memo to staff.
The parent company of New York magazine Vox, The Verge and other popular media brands last laid off employees a year ago. remove 4% of staff. A Vox Media spokeswoman declined to say how many people have been laid off as part of the current reduction.
In the memo obtained by Business Insider, Bankoff said the layoffs and “organizational changes” would impact Thrillist, PS and Eater.
He said that in the future, Thrillist would be operated by Eater and that PS would “focus on its large footprint across social and video platforms with an even greater emphasis on shopping.”
The Writers Guild of America East, the union that represents many Vox Media employees, issued a statement saying it was “blindsided” by the news and called the decision to lay off staff so close to the holidays “infuriating.” The union said the layoffs would “decimate” Thrillist and hurt Eater’s ability to differentiate itself.
Vox Media acquired lifestyle brands Thrillist and PS (formerly PopSugar) in its acquisition of fellow digital media company Group Nine in early 2022. The deal was part of an ongoing consolidation of digital media to better compete with Google and Facebook. Digital publishing has generally struggled as Big Tech platforms have dominated digital ad spending.
Bankoff said in the note that Vox Media will continue to focus on areas where it sees the most opportunity, including building direct audiences and its Vox Media podcast network. Vox Media also recently placed the tech-focused The Verge behind a paywall.
Here is Bankoff’s full memo:
Team,
Today, we are implementing role reductions and organizational changes across our lifestyle brands (Thrillist, PS and Eater), Product and the Media Production & Technology organization. All affected employees have been informed and are receiving transition support.
Each of our brands faces distinct market opportunities and challenges. As you know, the pace of change is accelerating for media companies and it is critical to our success that we continually evaluate how and where we invest to best serve our audiences to advance the long-term health of our business.
In particular, the way audiences interact with our Thrillist and PS brands has changed and we need to adapt. Going forward, Thrillist will be operated by Eater, following a similar model to Punch, leveraging shared leadership and resources. PS will focus on its expanded presence across social and video platforms, with an even greater emphasis on shopping. Eater is reorganizing its city coverage according to a regional model to most effectively meet the needs of its audience. Product and media production and technology organizations are being restructured to meet current needs and scale of the business.
Throughout our history, we have dominated the digital media landscape because we have been willing to adapt and evolve as technology and the way people consume content evolve. These actions, while difficult, are consistent with our strategic priority of deepening audiences’ connections with brands and franchises that build loyalty while ensuring our financial strength. As was the case this year, in 2025 we will continue to invest in our business where we see the clearest opportunities: editorial and user experiences that build loyalty with direct audiences; a high-value advertising proposition based on unique intellectual property; strong brands that capture public attention; direct multimedia productions like those we are building with the Vox Media podcast network; and direct-to-consumer businesses to diversify their revenue streams and increase recurring revenue.
While improving our financial strength is always a priority, we have made significant progress this year to ensure our long-term profitability. This has required difficult decisions and constant financial discipline regarding where we invest and where we exit. To our departing colleagues, I am grateful for your contributions. To everyone at Vox Media, thank you for your continued commitment to our work.
Jimmy