IBT Media Splits Newsweek Into Separate Entity, Lays off 30+ Staffers
The second round of staff cuts in three months comes as the company continues its push for efficiency.
Newsweek and International Business Times are splitting up — sort of.
Parent company IBT Media announced Thursday a corporate restructuring that will see Newsweek spun off into its own operational entity led by editor-in-chief Jim Impoco.
International Business Times will be integrated with IBT's other brands, including Medical Daily, iDigitalTimes, Fashion Times, and the Latin Times. That entity will be led by International Business Times editor-in-chief Dayan Candappa.
The reorganization, according to CEO Etienne Uzac, is all about driving efficiencies.
In this case, that means layoffs. The company let go more than 30 staffers Thursday afternoon, Politico reports.
Most of the departures appear to be confined to International Business Times, whose tech, media and culture editor Michael Learmonth is among those departing from the company.
Joining Learmonth are deputy editor of media and culture Christopher Zara; tech editor David Gilbert; personal finance editor Lauren Lyons Cole; and several reporters.
The layoffs come just three months after IBT Media's last round of cuts, when at least 15 employees were let go. Those layoffs also centered around International Business Times. Unlike in March, Newsweek appears to be affected, as well.
"Over the past few months we have been strategically restructuring the company in order to adapt to the changes in the market and to insure IBT Media has a strong path to continued growth," wrote Uzac and CCO Jonathan Davis in a staff memo back in March. "In these ever shifting and challenging times within our industry, we are responsible for sustaining and reinventing our company as best we can."
Evidently, that restructuring continues. It's been an interesting year for the ten-year-old company, which purchased Newsweek in 2013 before resurrecting its print edition several months later. In February, Politico reported discord within the company regarding missed payments to employees.
Laid off employees who do not find new employment in the next two weeks will be entitled to modest severance packages, according to Politico.
An IBT Media spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
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