Business Insider Announces Layoffs Affecting 21% of Staff
AI integration pushes ahead as Business Insider decreases workforce by 21%
Business Insider has made the difficult decision to reduce its workforce by 21%, impacting various departments within the company. This move comes at a time when the media outlet is realigning its strategy to focus on innovation, tech, and business journalism.
"We are reducing the size of our organization, a move that will touch every department," stated Business Insider CEO Barbara Peng in an internal memo obtained by Fox News Digital. "This will be a challenging day, and our priority is to offer clarity and support to those colleagues whose roles are affected."
Back in 2023, Peng announced a new strategic direction for the outlet, aiming to become the leading news source for journalism on innovation, tech, and business. Since the appointment of Jamie Heller as Editor-in-Chief at the end of last year, the company claims to have doubled the amount of original reporting and significantly increased audience engagement.
To enhance its operations and better serve the audience, Business Insider will exit most of its commerce business, which has relied heavily on search traffic. However, it plans to maintain select high-performing verticals. The company is also launching BI Live, an events platform to promote its journalism and connect directly with readers.
In addition, Business Insider is embracing artificial intelligence as a key component of its strategy. Current users of Enterprise ChatGPT represent 70% of the company's workforce, with a goal of 100%. AI-driven products have already been launched, such as AI-powered onsite search and an AI-powered paywall. The company aims to scale and operate more efficiently using AI.
While these changes will take time to process, staff members are encouraged to discuss the updates during scheduled team meetings. The Insider Union and The NewsGuild of New York have expressed concerns about the layoffs, particularly citing the involvement of German publisher Axel Springer, which owns Business Insider.
"Axel Springer is a multi-billion dollar firm whose digital outlets and media businesses generate the majority of its revenue. The layoffs of our talented team members is another example of Axel Springer’s pivot away from journalism towards greed," stated the Union in a statement to Fox News Digital. Business Insider has yet to provide further comment on the matter.
In an attempt to streamline its focus on innovation, tech, and business journalism, Business Insider is implementing staff reductions affecting 21% of its workforce, altering their financial structure and potentially impacting the organization's revenue. As the corporation embraces artificial intelligence as part of its strategy, it aims to operate more efficiently and scale using AI-driven products, which pose implications for the economy and the wider business landscape influenced by technology.
