Coronavirus: BuzzFeed to cease news production in Australia and UK

BuzzFeed will cease news production in Australia and the UK, diverting resources towards the US market.

BuzzFeed will cease news production in Australia and the UK resulting in the sacking of dozens of staff.

Digital media site BuzzFeed has announced it will cease news production in Australia and the UK “both for economic and strategic reasons’’, diverting resources towards the US market.

Founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti, the company became famous as an online content aggregator before growing in popularity for its highly-shareable “listacle’’ articles and viral content.

In the last decade it has become a global media company with news operations that have at times rivalled traditional media companies.

In a statement, a representative for the company said: “Both for economic and strategic reasons, we are going to focus on news that hits big in the United States during this difficult period’’.

“Therefore, we will notify staff in the UK and Australia that we are not planning to cover local news in those countries.

“We will be consulting with employees on our plans regarding furloughs and stand-downs in these regions.”

The company will retain some employees who cover news with a global audience: social and celebrity news, as well as investigative pieces.

BuzzFeed launched its UK operations in 2013 and arrived in Australia the following year during a time of global expansion for the company.

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the company's finances which was already struggling — last year 200 BuzzFeed employees were laid off globally, 11 of which were in Australia.

The layoffs included general manager Simon Crerar, who launched the news operation in Australia in 2014.

It is understood that 10 UK employees and a further five Australian staff will be stood down as part of the current cutbacks.

BuzzFeed’s Australian newsdesk is headed by Lane Sanity, who has been with the company since 2015.

Gina Rushton, Hannah Ryan and Cameron Wilson are employed as reporters while Peter Holmes is copy editor.

Ms Ryan tweeted on Thursday that the news operation would wind up “after next week.”

It’s tough to lose my job during a pandemic, but I’m truly gutted that BuzzFeed won’t be covering Aussie news for an Aussie audience after next week.

— Hannah Ryan (@HannahD15) May 14, 2020

The BuzzFeed news union on Wednesday, tweeted that it would attempt to negotiate with management and propose alternative cost-cutting measures.

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti announced last week that 68 employees in other divisions of the company will be furloughed to further cut costs during the COVID-19 crisis, following staff-wide pay cuts in April. We’ve been told some form of staff reductions will hit our newsroom next.

— BuzzFeed News Union ✊ (@bfnewsunion) May 12, 2020

“BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti announced last week that 68 employees in other divisions of the company will be furloughed to further cut costs during the COVID-19 crisis, following staff-wide pay cuts in April. We’ve been told some form of staff reductions will hit our newsroom next,” the union said.

“Right now, our biggest concern is that the company will finalise decisions about furloughing non-union staff before discussing any proposals with the union. Those decisions inevitably impact us; we all work together as one newsroom, and believe this needs to be one conversation.”