More Buzzfeed redundancies have been made official, with six Aussie staffers among those on the way out.
As reported yesterday, Buzzfeed Australia founding editor Simon Crerar was the first of what will be 11 local jobs lost, and roughly 200 in total worldwide.
Today, the redundancies of editor-at-large Jenna Guillaume, senior reporter Josh Taylor, social news lead Brad Esposito, lifestyle editor Jemima Skelley, lifestyle producer Michelle Rennex and photo editor Anna Mendoza have been announced, with further cuts expected soon.
Guillaume, a young adult author based in Sydney, discussed her departure on Twitter.
Here it is: after 5 years, I’m leaving BuzzFeed. I’m sad, but excited about exploring new opportunities. I’ve got my 1st book to launch and my 2nd book to write, and I’m keen to freelance (but also interested in hearing about staff roles!). Hit me up: [email protected]
— Jenna Guillaume (@JennaGuillaume) February 14, 2019
She went on to express her enthusiasm for possible upcoming roles, mentioning her sizeable list of accomplishments from her time with the publication.
Hers was not the only voice heard on Twitter, with Esposito saying: “I loved working for this company and I loved working with these people. I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it happen again wherever I go”.
Taylor described Buzzfeed Australia as being: “a dream job, the best team I’ve worked for and a wonderful office so I’m sad, but know it’s time to try something new”.
Rennex expressed optimism, saying: “Redundancy is a crazy thing but I’m scared, excited, and ready for the next big thing”.
BuzzFeed News senior reporter Ryan Broderick spoke strongly of the continued scaleback, tweeting: “After watching how BuzzFeed UK employees were treated while pushing for a union last year, the way redundancies cleared out all support, and the absolutely unacceptable brutality of this month’s company-wide layoffs, there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s time for a [BuzzFeed News Union]”.
