Axios Laying Off 10% of Staff

Axios announced on Tuesday that it would lay off about 50 employees, or roughly 10 percent of the company. In a note to employees, the media outlet’s chief executive, Jim VandeHei, attributed the cuts to “changes in the media business” and said that Axios needed to shift its investment to its core business areas to adapt. “This is the most difficult moment for media in our lifetime,” Mr. VandeHei wrote in the email, which was obtained by The New York Times. He said that the company would continue to hire in “key areas” but was facing a fragmenting of reader attention, new rivals going after its business and talent, and artificial intelligence models capable of summarizing news. The eliminated positions are across the 500-person company, including in the newsroom, according to a person familiar with the matter. It is the first time the company has instituted layoffs. Axios was started in 2017 by Mr. VandeHei and his business partners Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz, all of whom previously worked at Politico, the political news site. The publication quickly made a name for itself with its bullet-point format, distilling the news down into bite-size chunks. In 2022, Axios was sold to Cox Enterprises in a deal valuing the media outlet at $525 million. The three founders continue to run the company. Mr. VandeHei said in the email to staff on Tuesday that moving forward, Axios would increase its focus on U.S. news coverage and more rapidly expand its city-specific newsletters to new locations. He also said the company would continue building its paid subscription product, Axios Pro, which is aimed at business professionals. Axios is also continuing to explore potential acquisitions. Mr. VandeHei told The Times earlier this year that the rise of A.I. had influenced his thinking on how to position his media company, developing a thesis that the only outlets that would survive the technology were ones that had journalistic expertise, trusted content and in-person human connection. Mr. VandeHei said at the time that Axios would increase the number of live events it holds as well as build paid memberships around some of its star journalists. Katie Robertson covers the media industry for The Times. Email: katie.robertson@nytimes.com More about Katie Robertson Inside the Media Industry — The Washington Post: The Post is creating a division under Will Lewis, its C.E.O., to find valuable audiences in new places, such as on social media. His last company shows that may be a tough road. — CBS News: Just two days after Norah O’Donnell announced that she would depart the show, CBS News executives said she would be replaced by John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois. — How YouTube Took Over TV: The platform first known for viral videos now attracts more viewers on television than Netflix, Disney+ or Amazon Prime Video. — Hollywood’s Red State Message: After a period of openly using movies to display progressive values, studios seem to be bending to conservative audiences. “Twisters” is emblematic of that shift. — The ​​Battle for the Murdoch Empire: Rupert Murdoch has moved to change the family’s irrevocable trust to preserve his media businesses as a conservative force. Several of his children are fighting back.