BuzzFeed laid off 45 reporters, editor and producers from Huffington Post, the competitor it finally acquired three weeks ago. The layoffs came without warning.
The union said the layoffs included nearly 30 percent of its membership.
"We are devastated and infuriated, particularly after an exhausting year of covering a pandemic and working from home," the union's statement said. Many of the laid off employees were lamenting losing their jobs on social media after stints of many years, and objected to the way they were told, saying the password for entering the remote meeting was a variation of "spring is here," making them blindsided by what would come later.
Reporter Rowaida Abdelaziz called it "an absolute cruel and brutal day at HuffPost. I am speechless."
Buzzfeed CEO Jonah Peretti says HuffPo lost $20M last year, which suggests they were either 1) somehow fooled into buying a company on the skids or 2) knew they were only buying an audience and intended to slash jobs and costs from the outset.
