Byron Allen is overseeing about 180 layoffs at BuzzFeed, HuffPost and Tasty, the first major restructuring move since he took a 52 percent majority stake in BuzzFeed in May. The cuts hit roughly a third of BuzzFeed’s pre-layoff workforce of about 510 employees.
On Monday, BuzzFeed leadership told employees: “Today we are making important changes to BuzzFeed that are required to put our business on a path to profitable and sustainable growth.” The same memo tied the job cuts to the March warning that there was substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, and said Allen had stepped in with an investment of approximately 26 million dollars to stabilize, protect, and grow the company.
May deal put Allen in charge
In a $120 million agreement unveiled in May, Allen took the majority stake and became CEO. The deal was funded by $20 million in cash and a $100 million promissory note due five years after deal close, giving him control just as BuzzFeed was dealing with a nearly 20 percent year-over-year decline in advertising revenue and a $15.1 million quarterly net loss, up from $12.5 million a year earlier.
That sequence makes the layoffs more than a routine cost trim. Jonah Peretti, the founder, lost the CEO role in the May deal, and the company is now cutting staff while trying to show that the new ownership structure can support profitable and sustainable growth rather than just buy time.
BuzzFeed, HuffPost and Tasty
The jobs are being cut across BuzzFeed, HuffPost and Tasty, but the company has not broken out how many layoffs each brand will absorb. That matters operationally because the three units do not have the same staffing profile, and a total cut of 180 leaves managers and employees trying to infer where the reduction pressure is heaviest without a brand-by-brand count.
BuzzFeed said Allen sees opportunity in BuzzFeed, HuffPost, Tasty and BuzzFeed Studios, and that BuzzFeed is well-positioned for growth, especially in free streaming. The staffing move suggests the growth plan is being paired with a leaner cost base, not a broad expansion.
August 4 earnings disclosure
BuzzFeed is set to report its next earnings disclosure on August 4, and that update should show whether the restructuring is landing fast enough to match the company’s revenue and loss profile. Until then, the most immediate question is how the 180 cuts will be divided across BuzzFeed, HuffPost and Tasty, because that will tell employees which parts of the business are being resized first.
