Vox Media shakes up leadership and lays off staff for the 2nd time in about a month

• Vox Media laid off at least 12 staffers at Vox.com, the company’s second round of cuts in about a month.
• The company also announced expanded duties for its top leaders.
• Vox Media faces challenges as digital advertisers move toward Big Tech platforms over news sites.

Vox Media laid off staff on Thursday for the second time in just over a month, this time at its general news site Vox.com.

Vox Media didn’t specify the number of people let go but said several teams were impacted in what was a “difficult but necessary step as the industry evolves.” The Writers Guild of America East, which represents the Vox newsroom, said the layoffs included 12 of its members. As of 2022, the Vox Media Union had 360 members across Vox Media sites.

Vox also announced a raft of C-suite leadership changes Wednesday, expanding duties for two top leaders as it looks to diversify the business. Pam Wasserstein was named copresident and vice chair of Vox Media and will serve as CEO Jim Bankoff’s “strategic partner.” She’ll continue to oversee New York, Vox, and Vox Media Studios.

Also adding responsibilities is revenue head Ryan Pauley. He was also named copresident, adding oversight for the lifestyle brands and the podcast business and production. He continues to oversee advertising, commerce, consumer revenue, and marketing.

“These changes will create clearer focus, faster decision making, and increased executive capacity for tackling larger strategic questions,” Jim Bankoff wrote in a company email viewed by Business Insider. “This is particularly important given our complex, multi-brand environment.”

In December, Vox laid off staff at its lifestyle titles Thrillist, PS (formerly Pop Sugar), and Eater and said that Thrillist would be operated by Eater going forward.

At the time, Bankoff said the company would focus on areas where it saw the most opportunity, including building direct audiences and its Vox Media Podcast Network. Vox Media also recently put its tech-focused property, The Verge, behind a paywall.

Vox Media grew out of the boom in digital media, raising more than $400 million from investors, including NBCUniversal General Atlantic. It styled itself as the Condé Nast of digital, with a collection of websites devoted to news and lifestyle topics. Its last funding round was in 2023 when it raised $100 million from Penske Media in a deal that made Penske the biggest shareholder with 20%, The New York Times reported.

As investor interest in digital media soured, Vox Media rolled up other properties including New York magazine, Group Nine Media, and NowThis, which it later spun off. Vox.com, the site of the most recent layoffs, focuses on news and politics.

Vox Media, along with many of its digital-media contemporaries, has faced challenges as digital advertisers flock to Big Tech platforms.