Here is something you should know: If you’ve been keeping up with what’s new in the media landscape these days, here’s another major piece of news: Business Insider is laying off more than a fifth of its staff. That is correct—21% of all employees in all departments are losing their jobs, and it’s all part of the way the company is retooling its plans for a more tech-savvy era.
In a memo Thursday, CEO Barbara Peng finalized the deep cuts. “This will be a tough day,” she wrote. Her priority, she said, is helping the people whose jobs are being eliminated.
Pivoting toward tech, innovation, and business
The cuts are not just about simplifying the budget. As explained to us by Peng, they’re part of a bigger plan that was kicked off 18 months ago — a plan to make Business Insider the destination website for innovation, technology, and business journalism. It’s looking ahead, but one with very real costs to existing staff in conventional roles.
Since Editor-in-Chief Jamie Heller joined the position at the end of last year, the publication has taken a shift towards more original and authoritative reporting. Peng says they’ve already doubled up on the amount of original content and saw higher reader engagement.
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AI is now at the center of everything
This transition also includes a big bet on artificial intelligence. Business Insider is now “fully embracing AI,” Peng said, noting that 70% of employees already use Enterprise ChatGPT, with intentions to reach 100%. Over the past year, the publication introduced AI-powered features such as site search and paywall, and more are in the works.
Outside of editing technology, AI is also being utilized at Business Insider as a way to enhance efficiency. It’s a shift that mirrors larger trends across the media universe, where AI is no longer just an instrument but a leading force of strategy.
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Shutting down commerce, opening up BI live
A second huge change: Commerce is shutting down most of its Commerce business. That division depended heavily on search traffic, which has become less stable — so the company will have only a few high-performing verticals left. In Commerce’s place, Business Insider is launching a new platform, BI Live. It’s designed to interact more immediately with readers and push their journalism more forcefully.
Layoffs prompt union response
Naturally, the move hasn’t gone down well with staff or their union. The Insider Union and The NewsGuild of New York denounced the job losses, pointing fingers at Axel Springer — Business Insider’s parent company in Germany. Describing the actions in a biting statement, they referred to the moves as “a brazen pivot away from journalism toward greed.”
Processing the change, one meeting at a time
Peng acknowledged the emotional cost of the reorganization and called out to employees to attend team meetings on Thursday morning to weather the change. “Change like this isn’t easy,” she said, reminding employees that Business Insider itself was founded amid a time of upheaval, when cellphones were revolutionizing the way people digested news.
It can be another crossroads moment for the media, and Business Insider appears to be committed to leading the way, but at a very real cost in human terms.
