BuzzFeed UK is cutting almost half of all editorial roles

BuzzFeed UK is cutting almost half of all editorial roles amid a sweeping restructure of its London office

  • BuzzFeed staff tweet that 17 of its 37 UK editorial staff set to be made redundant
  • The journalists producing its well-known listicles and quizzes set to bear brunt
  • UK editor-in-chief Janine Gibson left her post suddenly ten days ago 
  • Website also cutting 250 US jobs – while 800 going at HuffPost, Yahoo and AOL 

BuzzFeed is set to axe almost half of its UK editorial staff, it was revealed today.

The news and entertainment website’s London base is being restructured with 17 of its 37 writers and illustrators set to be made redundant.

The majority of the job losses will land in its ‘Buzz team’, whose journalists produce the listicle and quiz content the website initially became known for.

There will also be cuts to its teams covering news, entertainment as well as its illustrations and essays sections.

BuzzFeed’s UK editor-in-chief Janine Gibson left suddenly ten days amid speculation that the company wanted to impose major budget cuts on the London office. 

Today’s 17 job losses emerged days after bosses cut 250 more posts in the US. 

BuzzFeed UK (pictured today) plans to cut its editorial team by almost half, it has emerged

The news website's own staff shared the sad news on Twitter days after the US operation cut 250 jobs

The news website’s own staff shared the sad news on Twitter days after the US operation cut 250 jobs

A spokesman for BuzzFeed confirmed there would be job losses but said that the numbers, tweeted out by their own London staff, are not yet set in stone. 

She said: ‘Our proposed news unit in the UK will continue to do impactful journalism across social justice, politics and social news. 

‘The biggest loss to our team will be in the core Buzz unit, however we will maintain some celebrity content creators’.

Janine Gibson, who moved from the Guardian to become BuzzFeed UK's editor-in-chief - but left suddenly ten days ago as the budget cuts emerged

Janine Gibson, who moved from the Guardian to become BuzzFeed UK’s editor-in-chief – but left suddenly ten days ago as the budget cuts emerged

The redundancies came days after BuzzFeed’s US operation also shrank.

Last week it was announced that bosses would cut about 15 per cent of their American workforce, resulting in 250 layoffs. 

The group slashed their national news, national security and health sections.

BuzzFeed founder and CEO Jonah Peretti said in a leaked memo: ‘This experience is heartbreaking for everyone involved. We had people up until 4am last night trying to accelerate the process and meet with as many people as possible before the weekend.

He added: ‘I wish this wasn’t the case but it is. I know this is resulting in additional anxiety and stress, we are trying to mitigate as much as possible. It really sucks and I’m sorry’. 

The reason for the cuts is declining digital advertising sales as tech giants Facebook and Google monopolize digital ads and block news sites from cashing in on that revenue with their changing algorithms. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk