An industry-wide slump in advertising in online media has prompted New York based media firm BuzzFeed to shed around 8 per cent of its workforce, resulting in the elimination of around 100 jobs, Bloomberg reported citing a person familiar with the matter.
Chief Executive Officer Jonah Peretti said in a memo Wednesday that the company will fire marketing, advertising and creative workers in the U.S. and U.K.
Greg Coleman, who has been president of BuzzFeed for the last three and a half years, will become a senior adviser, and BuzzFeed will begin a search for a new COO, Peretti said.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that BuzzFeed will be missing its revenue target of $350 million by as much as 20 per cent this year.
Peretti said in his memo that the company will devote more resources to developing lifestyle brands such as food site Tasty and the travel-themed Bringme.
BuzzFeed was valued at about $1.7 billion last year after a $200 million investment from NBCUniversal.
