News Website Business Insider to layoff around 8% of its workforce

Joining the wave of layoffs is news website Business Insider whose CEO Barbara Peng said on Thursday that the firm is set to lay off around 8% of its staff.

"We have already begun to refocus teams and invest in areas that drive outsize value for our core audience," Peng said in a post on Business Insider's website. "Unfortunately, this also means we need to scale back in some areas of our organization."

Severance package

Business Insider will offer the outgoing employees a minimum of 13 weeks pay and medical coverage through May.

German publishing giant Axel Springer SE which acquired a majority stake in Insider in 2015, retired the "Business Insider" name in 2021 as it looked to expand coverage. However, the decision was called off when co-founder Henry Blodget stepped down as the CEO of the publication in November.

Layoffs by Media companies

As per Reuters, media companies have been under pressure over the past year as advertisers pull back on spending due to still-high borrowing costs. Other news publications including the Los Angeles Times and Conde Nast too had laid off staff.

Like media industry, layoff is also largely seen in Tech industry. According to Layoffs.fyi, more than 60 other tech companies, including Amazon.com Inc. and Google parent Alphabet Inc., have let go almost 11,000 employees so far this year