Progressive news outlet NowThis made deep cuts to its staff for the second time this year

• NowThis laid off about half its unionized newsroom, marking the second deep round of cuts this year.
• The layoffs affected 13 of NowThis' 21 WGA East members.
• A softness in digital advertising has led to widespread media layoffs in recent years.

NowThis recently laid off about half its unionized newsroom, the second round of deep cuts this year at the progressive digital news outlet.

The layoffs impacted 13 of NowThis' 21 members of WGA East, which represents the newsroom, a union representative told Business Insider. NowThis notified the laid-off staffers on November 15. The company also recently let go of three people on the sales side, a person close to NowThis told BI. They asked for anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the cuts. Their identity is known to BI.

A NowThis spokesperson confirmed the layoffs to BI and said the company remained committed to making "impactful content."

In September, NowThis hired a new editor-in-chief, Michael Vito Valentino, formerly of Fallen Media and MTV, as it looked to shift focus to Gen-Z audiences.

NowThis was once a fast-growing digital news outlet that took off among young consumers. It soared in popularity by making short-form, text-on-screen videos — often about politics or social issues — that spread widely on social media. It joined Vox Media through Vox's 2021 acquisition of Group Nine Media. Vox spun NowThis off in 2023 through a deal with Accelerate Change, a nonprofit focused on promoting civic engagement among underrepresented groups. Vox retained a minority stake in the company and has an arrangement to sell advertising for NowThis.

A Vox Media spokesperson referred a request for comment to NowThis.

At the time of the spinoff, the plan was for NowThis to ramp up to cover the 2024 election. Accelerate Change is backed by progressive organizations such as the Open Society Foundations, which was founded by George Soros, the billionaire investor and major Democratic political donor. It also backs other news outlets, including ParentsTogether, PushBlack, Pulso, and Noticias Para Inmigrantes.

The earlier round of layoffs at NowThis, in February, curtailed some of the company's coverage ambitions, though. That round impacted 26 of its 50 members of WGA East. At the time, the company said the reduction was meant to ensure the business was sustainable, and that no more cuts were planned.

Many news media outlets have been hit by layoffs in recent years amid a general softness in digital advertising spending. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas tracked 3,402 job cuts in news so far this year through September, up 40% from 2,423 cuts during the year-earlier period.

After this story's publication, WGA East gave a statement to BI about the recent layoffs:

On Friday, November 15, at around 8:30 AM, 13 of the 21 remaining NowThis WGAE members were laid off immediately upon receipt of an email notice. The layoffs eliminated 3 of 4 members of the publishing team, 3 of 4 video editors, 3 of 7 Producers and Senior Producers, the sole Senior Motion Graphics Designer, the sole Senior Writer, the sole Senior Insights Analyst, and the sole Audience Strategist. The barebones group of remaining salaried workers at NowThis will now be forced to meet tight deadlines and increasing pressure without proper teams to support them.

In late October the company celebrated their "new editorial vision and advisory board" at an influencer-filled, private party. Mere weeks later, workers were blindsided by the news that the Company's "new editorial vision" apparently includes slashing their already stretched-thin teams.

At the start of 2022, there were 65 unit members at NowThis. Today, only 8 remain.

These reckless and cruel layoffs run completely counter to NowThis's self-professed "human-centered" approach to storytelling. The Guild stands in solidarity with the workers who built this company, only to be shown the door at the beginning of the holiday season.