• by Ray Schultz , February 22, 2024

A not-so-mild panic seems to be spreading through the ranks at the digital news platform Vice. 

The Washington Post reports that Vice has stopped publishing on its website and will lay off several hundred employees. 

Earlier, reporters had received an anonymous tip instructing them to back up their stories because the website was being taken down, Mediaite writes. In addition, employees suddenly could not download their emails. 

Top editor Josh Visser asked CEO Bruce Dixon and other executives to deny the rumors or clarify them, but had not received a response, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  

However, CEO Bruce Dixon confirmed that the site would be shuttered and personnel laid off, the Post writes.  

In addition, Vice is looking to sell its Refinery 29 publishing business, it continues. 

And The  New York Times also reports that hundreds of employees in Vice Media’s digital publishing division will be laid off next week. 

These developments  follow a tumultuous year at Vice. 

In May 2023, Vice filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and was subsequently acquired by a group of creditors, including Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Growth Capital, for an estimated $350 million.   

Also in May, Vice News Tonight aired its final episode amid reports of layoffs totaling 250.