Insider to slash 100 jobs as company battles ‘significant pressure’

News site Insider — formerly known as Business Insider — said it is slashing 10% of its workforce due to “significant pressure” and “economic headwinds.”

“The economic headwinds that have hurt many of our clients and partners are also affecting us,” Insider CEO Henry Blodget and president Barbara Peng wrote in a memo Thursday. “Unfortunately, to keep our company healthy and competitive, we need to reduce the size of our team.”

News of the layoffs at Insider come as BuzzFeed’s parent company announced it was shuttering its award-winning BuzzFeed News site.

Insider’s shakeup will amount to roughly 100 jobs being cut at the New York-based media company, which employs 950 staffers globally.

“This is a difficult time for all of us,” the execs said. “As we go through this transition, things may feel a bit bumpy. We will get through it together, just as we always have.”

They said staffers impacted by the layoffs would receive an email on Thursday morning.

Every employee laid off will receive 13 weeks of base pay plus two weeks for every year they’ve been employed by Insider over four years.

In a memo, Insider CEO Henry Blodget said the company is facing economic headwinds and would have to cut 10% of its workforce as a result.Getty Images

Additionally, laid-off staffers will get a personal laptop.

The execs said they would work with the union to “provide clarity on our proposed changes,” and that Insider will provide the union with proposed changes to bargain over.

It is unclear how many of the laid-off journalists belong to the union, the NewsGuild of New York.

The union did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Management also said these layoffs may not be the final round.

“We cannot promise that — no company can,” Insider wrote. “But after this reduction we will be in a stronger position as we move forward.”

A source at Insider said there will be a company-wide meeting at noon, which will provide further clarity on the layoffs of union members.

“People are freaked out and worried about the next round,” the source said. “It’s not that surprising, though. Over the last few years, Insider has been on a hiring spree.”

Barbara Peng circulated the memo signed by her and Blodget, telling staff they’d be working with the union to determine who was getting axed.Business Insider Intelligence group

The insider told The Post that departments that handle breaking news and rewrites were “hit hard,” and there were some cuts in photo and audience development.

Insider’s international teams will not be impacted, according to the Daily Beast, which cited an email from UK bureau chief Spriha Srivastava.

“We understand that this is a tough time for all and that some of you will have US colleagues affected by the changes,” Srivastava wrote. “Today, I would ask you all to help support our colleagues in the US by continuing to cover great stories and producing fascinating journalism.”

The company said it chose who would remain at Insider based on “where we see the most future potential,” the company said in a Q&A attached to the email about the layoffs.

The job cuts come a week after global editor-in-chief Nicholas Carlson said in a memo published by Semafor that the company planned to incorporate AI into the newsroom.

“Generative AI can make all of you better editors, reporters, and producers, too,” he wrote to staffers.

The media industry also has been scrambling to adjust to the difficult advertising market, rising inflation and fears of recession.

Rivals like CNN, the Washington Post, NPR and Vox Media have all announced layoffs this year.