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The Australian branch of BuzzFeed will need to downsize by 11 people, a global workforce reduction strategy targeting 200 people from the digital publisher's global workforce.
Alice Workman, a journalist at BuzzFeedOz, said Tuesday morning that she and all members of the press team had received a letter about layoffs stating that BuzzFeedOz "was reducing its overall footprint."
It's hard to know how many lost jobs will appear in the news, but each member of the 14-person team received a letter. Australia has 40 employees in editorial and commercial roles in Sydney and Canberra.
"We have built a strong brand, a loyal audience and a growing business in Australia, and BuzzFeed remains committed to building on this long-term foundation," a spokesman told Guardian Australia.
Krystie Lee Yandoli
(@KrystieLYandoli)BuzzFeed is currently recruiting writing and video fellows for a one – year term. In the past, scholarship programs were spread over three or four months and involved hourly wages without benefits. Nominations must be filed today while layoffs are taking place throughout the company, affecting full-time employees in these same departments. pic.twitter.com/dwc19pHGu0
Last week, Jonah Peretti, founder of BuzzFeed, announced plans to lay off hundreds of people because of declining digital revenues.
In a separate announcement, Verizon Media Group – the owner of HuffPost, Yahoo and AOL – announced the dismissal of about 800 employees.
The BuzzFeed staff in the United States did not initially pay all their fees, which prompted employees to send an open letter to Peretti last week asking them to receive all their unpaid leave.
But CNN reported Tuesday that BuzzFeed had overturned its decision and would fully pay the recently fired employees.
In Australia, only part of BuzzFeed's workforce is unionized, but the law requires all rights to be paid.
On a global scale, the cuts will affect BuzzFeed's press operations, which had been largely isolated from previous rounds of layoffs. The site had expanded its commitment to information and last year it was selected for a Pulitzer Award.
Amy McQuire
(@Amymcquire)Strongly agree – I should also note that Buzzfeed was the first point of sale for HSH to engage Aboriginal journalists on Aboriginal tours (to my knowledge). https://t.co/XbgMfUNJNp
BuzzFeedOz CEO Simon Crerar said the consultation period would last at least a week. "Companions: send beer" Crerar said on Twitter. "Haters: no, I will not learn to code."
Crerar said that a number of new roles would be created in Sydney, in line with BuzzFeed's new business priorities.
Last month, Labor MP Emma Husar launched a defamation proceeding against BuzzFeed for a story allegedly "shamed".
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