Business Insider, German media empire Axel Springer’s business and tech-focused publication, announced it planned to lay off roughly 21 percent of its staff on Thursday as it goes “all-in” on AI. “Business models are under pressure, distribution is unstable, and competition for attention is fiercer than ever,“ CEO Barbara Peng told staff in a memo on Thursday. ”At the same time, there’s a huge opportunity for companies who harness AI first.” Peng said the changes would affect every department at the company, and it would ultimately end most of its commerce business, some of its editorial beats, and pivot away from more traffic-dependent elements. The company does plan to launch an event series, BI Live, that it hopes will showcase its journalism—and plans to hire people for that team. “Change like this isn’t easy,” Peng said. “But Business Insider was born in a time of disruption—when the smartphone was reshaping how people consumed news. We thrived by taking risks and building something new.” The company’s union, which said it would lose about 20 percent of its members, blasted the layoffs in a statement: “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 co-workers and union members is another example of Axel Springer’s brazen pivot away from journalism toward greed.” Business Insider had no comment. An Axel Springer spokesperson said that its other U.S.-based media outlets—including Politico and Morning Brew—will not face cuts.
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