Vice Media says ‘several hundred’ staff members will be laid off, website will be shut down

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Vice Media plans to lay off several hundred employees and no longer publish material on its Vice.com website, the company's CEO said in a memo to staff Thursday. Vice, which filed for bankruptcy last year before being sold for $350 million to a consortium led by the Fortress Investment Group, is also looking to sell its Refinery 29 publishing business, CEO Bruce Dixon said in his memo to staff. Digital sites the Messenger, BuzzFeed News and Jezebel have all shut down in the past year, and legacy media outlets like the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal have Once a swashbuckling media company geared to a younger audience with an immersive storytelling style that encompassed digital, television and film outlets, New York-based Vice was valued at $5.7 billion in 2017. Before filing for bankruptcy protection last year, Vice canceled its “Vice News Tonight” television program as part of a round of layoffs then.