• by Melynda Fuller , May 1, 2019

Less than a month after acquiring Gizmodo Media Group and The Onion from Univision, G/O Media has laid off 25 of its employees.

The layoffs account for approximately 6% of the 400-person staff. Those laid off include Susie Banikarim, former editorial director of Gizmodo Media Group, special-projects editor Tim Marchman and executive managing editor Alex Dickinson. 

Prior to the staff cuts, G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller stated he wasn’t expecting layoffs post-acquisition. However, in an internal memo obtained by Variety, he stated the cuts were “not about making the company smaller,” and expects the company to conclude its first year with a staff of 400+.

Spanfeller reportedly plans to produce more content and bring on more marketing partners, which will require “bigger teams.”  He stated the layoffs came from a “need to re-configure specific processes” and “were not performance-driven but rather process-motivated.”

At the time of the acquisition, G/O Media was reported to have recognized the group’s union’s collective-bargaining agreement.

Just last week, the company announced the hire of two top positions, including its new CFO Tom Callahan and CTO Jesse Knight.

G/O Media’s brands include Gizmodo, Jalopnik, Jezebel, Deadspin, Lifehacker, Kotaku, Splinter, The Root, The Onion, A.V. Club, ClickHoleand The Takeout.

Per February’s Comscore numbers, the sites reached 67 million visitors.

Spanfeller said the acquisition came as the digital media category was "beginning to be recognized again for its unique ability to meet the diverse content and delivery needs of consumers and advertisers.”

According to Tuesday’s memo, G/O Media plans to hire more staff, including content producers, sales staff and a development team, as well as investing the group’s Kinja platform.