Vox Media lays off 7% of staff amid economic uncertainty

Vox Media is laying off 7% of its staff, according to a memo sent internally from CEO Jim Bankoff, obtained by Axios. Roughly 1,900 people work at the company, which means about 133 roles will be impacted.

Why it matters: It's the third round of cuts made at Vox Media in the past year.

• The company laid off 39 positions last July in an effort to get ahead of the economic uncertainty that's causing the ad market to slow down.
• It laid off 3% of employees following the completion of its merger with Group Nine Media last March.

Details: In a note to staff, Bankoff said several teams across revenue, editorial, operations and core services would be impacted by the cuts.

• Impacted employees will receive an email from the company's human resources department about severance package, "including options to extend select benefits paid by Vox Media," the note said.
• Layoffs, Bankoff implied, were a last resort. He noted in his memo that the company has taken steps to address the economic uncertainty in the past few months by suspending most new hiring and significantly reducing discretionary spending.
• "While we are not expecting further layoffs at this time, we will continue to assess our outlook, keep a tight control on expenses and consider implementing other cost savings measures as needed," he added.

The big picture: The economic climate has taken a toll on the media industry, resulting in layoffs across numerous companies, and efforts to consolidate different firms.

• Vox Media has had conversations about different strategic options, including a sale, Axios has reported.

• Bankoff noted that the company is experiencing and expects "more of the same economic and financial pressures that others in the media and tech industries have encountered."

What he's saying: "Unfortunately, in this economic climate, we’re not able to sustain projects and areas of the business that have not performed as anticipated, are less core to where we see the biggest opportunities in the coming years, or where we don’t have enough rationale to support ongoing investment in what could be a prolonged downturn," Bankoff said.

• "In spite of the dedication of the many talented people involved in these initiatives, we need to scale back." 

Go deeper: Vox Media lays off 39 people amid economic uncertainty

Editor's note: This story was updated with new details.