• by Melynda Fuller , July 16, 2020

Vox Media, home to media brands that include New York magazine, SBNation and Curbed, announced it will lay off 6% of its workforce. The company employs around 1,200 people.

The layoffs were announced via an internal email from Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff. The Wrap acquired and reviewed the email.

Most of the laid-off staffers were previously furloughed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a few were still working at the company.

Bankoff wrote: “The roles affected have experienced substantial changes in workload or business priority; in some cases, they are in areas undergoing a strategic shift accelerated by the crisis and its hastened changes to our industry.”

Bankoff added that Vox Media has brought or plans to bring back nearly 30% of furloughed employees, noting that some furloughed employees accepted buyouts.

Earlier in April, Vox Media furloughed 9% of its staff and instituted tiered salary reductions for employees making over $130,000. The furloughs were reported to last from May1 to July 31 and impacted positions across sales, sales support, production, events, support functions, including IT and office operations, and the editorial staffs of SB Nation and Curbed.

In his email today, Bankoff said the cuts were needed after Vox Media’s business failed to rebound as strongly as management had hoped in May.