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BuzzFeed News is to shut after 12 years as the company battles a slowdown in online advertising and a darkening economic picture.
Its parent business Buzzfeed is to cut 15pc of jobs, or 180 roles, and will focus future media efforts on HuffPost, as well as developing artificial intelligence software that can replace writers.
In a memo to staff, chief executive Jonah Peretti blamed changing reader habits and a tough economy for the decision.
He added: “But I want to be clear: I could have managed these changes better as the chief executive officer of this company and our leadership team could have performed better despite these circumstances.
“Our job is to adapt, change, improve and perform despite the challenges in the world. We can and will do better.”
When it launched in 2011, the company intended to reinvent media for the digital age and take market share from traditional newspapers.
It hired investigative journalists in an attempt to burnish the credentials of the Buzzfeed brand, which to begin with was best known for viral content known as “listicles”.
The organisation quickly garnered attention for a series of scoops, including the so-called Steele dossier that exposed possible ties between then-President Donald Trump and Russia. It also won a Pulitzer Prize for a series of articles that exposed China’s repression of Muslims in the Xinjiang region.
However, Buzzfeed shut down its UK and Australia news operations in 2020 as the flaws in its advertising-funded business model became more apparent. It has been beset by financial difficulties since a disastrous stock market float through a special purpose acquisition company (Spac) at the end of 2021.
At its peak, the digital publisher was worth around $1.7bn, but this valuation has now tumbled to just $110m. Shares were down 15pc after the latest cuts were announced.
In January, BuzzFeed revealed that it intended to start using artificial intelligence to help write quizzes as it grappled with the impact of the new technology with the sector.
The company is working with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, on the initiative.
In the note to staff, Mr Peretti said BuzzFeed will continue to focus on AI, while its news efforts will be concentrated in HuffPost, the digital news publisher it acquired in 2020.
As part of the shake-up, chief revenue officer Edgar Hernandez and chief operating officer Christian Baesler will both leave the company.
The cuts came on the same day that rival online news site Insider announced it was laying off 10pc of its US workforce.
Its chief executive Barbara Peng said the cuts were necessary to keep the company “healthy and competitive” amid growing pressure on the industry.
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