Vice.com to lay off hundreds of employees and stop publishing stories

Vice Media Group has announced a major restructuring plan, which includes halting publication on its main news website, vice.com, and laying off several hundred employees.

 The company's CEO, Bruce Dixon, stated that Vice would now seek partnerships with established media companies for distributing its digital content, as it transitions to a studio model.  "It is no longer cost-effective for us to distribute our digital content the way we have done previously," Vice CEO Bruce Dixon said.

Vice is set to shift its focus and pursue collaborations with established media companies to distribute its digital content, including news, on their global platforms, he added. As part of this transition to a studio model, Vice will cease publishing or distributing articles on its website, vice.com, and will exclusively create content for other media brands.

Dixon also revealed that discussions to sell Refinery29, Vice's women's lifestyle brand, are in progress. The decision to shut down vice.com and lay off hundreds of employees has received mixed reactions on social media. 

Dixon acknowledged the imperative need to realign resources and streamline operations at Vice, leading to the elimination of several hundred positions.

Despite significant investments from industry giants like Disney and Fox, Vice has struggled to achieve profitability, leading to multiple rounds of layoffs and cost-cutting measures.  This mirrors the broader challenges faced by the media industry, with a downturn in advertising revenue and increased competition from platforms like TikTok causing major news organisations to implement layoffs.

Established in Montreal in the 1990s as an alternative punk publication, Vice transformed into a multimedia empire co-founded by Gavin McInnes, Suroosh Alvi, and Shane Smith. However, Vice's trajectory has been marked by controversy, including its connection with McInnes, who later founded the Proud Boys, a neo-fascist militant organization aligned with the far right.

Once lauded as one of the hottest brands in digital media during the early 2010s, Vice underwent rapid expansion fueled by its bold journalistic style and diverse commercial ventures. The company's portfolio encompassed a news website, an entertainment studio, an HBO series, a cable TV channel, and an in-house marketing agency.

In the previous year, Vice successfully emerged from bankruptcy under the new ownership of Fortress Investment Group. Despite efforts to secure a buyer, no suitable arrangement was finalized. Prominent news organisations such as The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, CNN, ABC News, and BuzzFeed News have grappled with financial challenges, leading to staff layoffs. These developments have sparked concerns about the sustainability and future landscape of journalism.