Vox Media to cut 6% of workforce on grim recovery prospects in 2020

By Akanksha Rana

July 16 (Reuters) - Vox Media, the owner of New York magazine, is laying off 6% of its staff, as it does not expect a rebound in publishing business to pre-COVID forecasts in the second half of 2020, according to an internal email seen by Reuters.

Media companies are hard-pressed with cash flow concerns as they see a drop in advertising revenue since the coronavirus outbreak, forcing many to cut expenses.

Vox Media Chief Executive Officer Jim Bankoff said in the email a majority of those impacted by the layoff were employees furloughed in May and would receive health insurance and severance packages.

The publisher will bring back about 30% of the furloughed employees who chose not to take buyouts, Bankoff said, adding that it will reinstate full salaries of the remaining employees.

"The only exceptions are me and my executive team, who will continue our reductions," the CEO wrote in the letter.

Vox Media, which also owns technology news websites including the Verge and Recode, had in April said it would furlough 9% of its employees and the decision would impact about 100 of them from May through July.

(Reporting by Akanksha Rana and Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)