Technology Today

Vox Media is making a number of cutbacks in response to the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.In addition to Vox itself, the digital media company owns properties including Curbed, Eater, Recode, SB Nation and The Verge — and it acquired New York Magazine last year.In a staff memo obtained by TechCrunch (and others), CEO Jim Bankoff outlined several cost-cutting measures but no outright layoffs.The measures including furloughing 9% of employees from May 1 to July 31.
Bankoff said this will include some employees in sales, sales support, production, events, IT and office operations, along with editorial staff at SB Nation and Curbed.
He also said affected employees will retain their company health insurance during this period.In addition, the company is freezing wages through the end of 2020, pausing its 401K match, reducing hours for 1% of employees and cutting salaries during the same three-month furlough period for employees making more than $130,000 per year — the cuts start at 15%, with Bankoff and Vox Media President Pam Wasserstein taking a 50% salary reduction.In explaining the layoffs, Bankoff pointed to the broader economic collapse caused by the pandemic, with the dramatic reduction in ad spending, which has led many other media companies to announce layoffs and/or salary reductions.Bankoff wrote:We&ve already seen a decline in our business.
Weakness in March, driven by the cancellations of SXSW and March Madness, the collapse of travel, sports and fashion-related advertising, and other factors led us to miss our revenue goals by several million dollars in the first quarter; the impact will be significantly greater in the second quarter.
While expressing the severity of this decline, it also important to know that we will rebound.
We don''t know when or to what extent a rebound will occur.
I&d be overjoyed if it happened quickly, but we cannot bet our company on these hopes.Update: The Vox Media Union has been tweeting in response to the news, painting the current plan as the result of negotiation:While we appreciate Vox Media talking to us in good faith, we don''t agree with the company decision to furlough employees — especially after hundreds of us told the company we were willing to take wider pay cuts to save all jobs.
So we fought for strong protections.
We won a guarantee of no layoffs, no additional furloughs, and no additional pay cuts through July 31, along with enhanced severance for any layoffs that occur in August-December.
The company also agreed to reduce the number of furloughs.





Unlimited Portal Access + Monthly Magazine - 12 issues


Contribute US to Start Broadcasting - It's Voluntary!


ADVERTISE


Merchandise (Peace Series)

 


Apple fans rushing for ₤ 35 iPhone 16 Pro Max as Sky uses payday deal


'I visited Chinese city which is like sci-fi movie with robots and noiseless trains'


Top Tech: Amazon's best early Prime Day deals including Ring, Tefal and Nespresso


Brits now 'obsessed' with health tracking and say it's key to motivation


Virgin Media is distributing complimentary wise TVs in surprise seven-day sale


O2 confirms UK network switch off and the exact date your phone might quit working


Samsung and Google have a new Android competitor that's like Nothing you've seen before


'Spectacular' Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra gets £10 a month price cut


Sky users given 48-hour cost alert and your costs could increase tomorrow


Never ever miss your favourite television series when on vacation with basic travel hack


Amazon may offer big reason to ditch your Fire TV Stick next week and try something new


Samsung and Google smartphone deals consist of free earbuds and smartwatches


Everyone using Google Chrome must restart their browser now - don't ignore new alert


iPhone users surprised after finding 'concealed' hack to organise home screen


Sky dishes out brand-new iPhone 16 at 'lowest ever' rate, not surprising that it's offering fast


Argos shoppers can get a free 40-inch Hisense TV by doing one thing


Immediate alert for everyone with a Gmail account - do not overlook 6 important brand-new rules


BBC iPlayer is rivalling Sky TV with a vital free upgrade - check your settings now