News outlet Insider to lay off 10% of its workforce

NEW DELHI: Popular news outlet Insider has announced to lay off 10 per cent of its workforce that includes staff writers. The digital publication, however, denied that its experiments with AI chatbot ChatGPT for writing assignments is behind the job cut move, reports The Daily Beast.

The layoffs reflect a media market still adjusting to a struggling economy. The staff members affected by the layoffs would receive 13 weeks of base pay with two additional weeks for each year they worked up to four years, medical coverage through August 2023, and career support services, including resume reviews and one-on-ones with coaches, said Insider.

"As you know, our industry has been under significant pressure for more than a year. The economic headwinds that have hurt many of our clients and partners are also affecting us," the company said in an email.

"Unfortunately to keep our company healthy and competitive, we need to reduce the size of our team. We have tried hard to avoid taking this step, and we are sorry about the impact it will have on many of you," it added.

The layoffs would impact the unionised workforce at the outlet, which means that writers would be included in the job cuts, reports Gizmodo.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning news arm of BuzzFeed.com is also being shut down, CEO Jonah Peretti announced.

The media outlet said that it is reducing the workforce by approximately 15 per cent across business, content, tech and admin teams, and beginning the process of closing BuzzFeed News.

"Additionally, we are proposing headcount reductions in some international markets," Peretti said in a memo to staff.

The company would focus on HuffPost, which it acquired in 2020, as the company's news brand.

Several media outlets, like ABC News, NPR, Vox Media, CNN and others have laid off staff members in recent months.