US Media Axios Lays Off 10% of Staff... First Time Since Establishment

"Decision to Reduce Staff in Response to Changes in the Media Environment"

American internet media Axios has decided to lay off about 50 employees for the first time.

On the 6th (local time), according to foreign media including The New York Times (NYT), Axios CEO Jim VandeHei announced in an email to employees that approximately 50 people would be laid off due to the "rapid changes in the media environment." This accounts for about 10% of the entire workforce and is the first mass layoff since the company's founding in 2016.

CEO VandeHei explained, "We decided on layoffs to respond to structural changes in media, technology, and reader demands," adding, "It is a painful but necessary measure to strategically focus and shift investments toward core growth areas."

He also noted that while hiring will continue in key areas, they could not ignore changes such as shifts in reader interests, artificial intelligence (AI) summarizing news, and competitors chasing core businesses.

VandeHei stated that going forward, the company will focus on U.S. news coverage and expand city-specific newsletters. He also mentioned that they will steadily build 'Axios Pro,' a paid subscription service targeting business professionals. The NYT reported that the layoffs will occur not only in the editorial department but across the entire company.