The media empire owned by Bryan Goldberg, which includes sites such as Bustle, Mic, and Gawker, has laid off nearly 30 staffers in the past few months, CNN reports.
Bustle was founded by Goldberg in 2013, and eventually expanded into the Bustle Digital Group. It has since acquired such sites as Mic, Nylon, The Outline, and Gawker. Bustle, which remains the signature outlet of the group, fired at least “eight staffers and some freelancers” on Thursday.
The BDG has been dealing with numerous similar layoffs in recent months, including the firing of most of Nylon’s staff shortly after its acquisition, and postponing the relaunch of the ill-fated Gawker after two staffers quit within the first two weeks of its acquisition, which led to the entirety of the staff being fired as well.
According to Business Insider, BDG has fired at least 17 employees between September and October, with the additional eight firings this week and then some adding up to over 25 layoffs in the last three months alone. The BDG has approximately 340 employees overall.
A spokesman denied that the mass firings would have any impact, and instead claimed that “BDG has recently hired dozens of writers and editors across our many properties…Bustle’s new editorial leadership will soon be announcing several marquee hires as we prepare for a major site relaunch in early 2020.”