Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Denver news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Des Moines news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Tampa Bay news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Charlotte news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff. Photo: Brian Ach/Getty Images for TechCrunch
Vox Media is furloughing 9% of its staff from May 1 through July 31, with health insurance premiums being fully covered, a source familiar with the moves tells Axios.
Why it matters: It's one of the many media companies forced to take drastic measures to survive the economic fallout of the coronavirus.
- Last week, Vox Media solicited donations from readers, foreshadowing its struggles.
- The digital publishing company owns brands like Eater, SB Nation, New York Magazine and The Strategist.
Additional measures are being taken in addition to layoffs, according to a source at Vox Media:
- About 1% of staff are moving to reduced hours from May 1 through July 31, with health insurance premiums still fully covered.
- There will be a temporary tiered pay reduction for employees starting at an annual salary of $130,000 for the same time period.
- 401(k) matches will be suspended through the end of 2020.
- There will be a freeze on merit-based increases and promotions.
In a memo to staff Friday obtained by Axios, Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff wrote: "The expectations that we had just a few weeks ago for our business and our lives no longer apply."
- "When I say it’s our goal to limit the impact on our employees, I mean it."
The big picture: The pandemic is forcing dozens of major media companies to carry out layoffs and pay cuts.
- Group Nine Media, which includes brands like Thrillist, Seeker, The Dodo, PopSugar and NowThis, laid off 7% of its workforce last week.
- Bustle Digital Group laid off two dozen staffers in early April and shuttered its tech website The Outline.
- Cheddar, BuzzFeed and dozens of other digital-native websites have also resorted to layoffs, furloughs and other measures to survive the pandemic.
Be smart: The digital news industry has been reeling from a tough economic outlook for a while — and Vox Media laid off roughly 50 staffers in 2018.
- It also laid off hundreds of freelancers last year, after a new law passed in California that reclassified freelance journalists as contract workers.
Go deeper: