Ziff Davis, the media company that owns CNET, ZDNet, PCMag, and Mashable, is laying off 15% of its unionized workforce, impacting 23 employees.

Nineteen of the layoffs are from CNET, affecting teams covering finance, broadband, sleep, and the copy desk, while smaller cuts will occur at Lifehacker, Mashable, and ZDNet.

The Ziff Davis Creators Guild, which represents affected staff, criticized the decision and raised concerns about the impact on journalistic quality, especially with the reduction of copy editors and fact-checkers.

Ziff Davis has acquired five companies in 2024, including TheSkimm and Well+Good, and purchased CNET in 2024 for US$ 100 million.

Ziff Davis has not provided public comment on the layoffs.

🔗 Source: The Verge

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Media companies often prioritize portfolio expansion over existing property investment

Ziff Davis demonstrates a common media industry pattern where companies simultaneously acquire new properties while reducing costs at existing ones.

The company acquired five companies this year, including notable brands like TheSkimm and Well+Good, while cutting 15% of its unionized workforce across existing properties1.

This “acquire and optimize” approach suggests that media companies often view growth through acquisition as more valuable than deepening investment in current operations.

The strategy reflects how media conglomerates typically manage cash flow, using proceeds from cost-cutting at established brands to fund expansion into new market segments or demographics.

2️⃣ Credibility rebuilding requires sustained editorial investment, not cost-cutting

CNET faces a particularly challenging contradiction as it attempts to recover from its 2023 AI content scandal while simultaneously losing key editorial staff.

The layoffs specifically target copy editors and fact-checkers, roles needed to prevent the type of error-filled AI content that damaged CNET’s reputation under previous owner Red Ventures1.

Union representatives explicitly noted concerns about cutting these quality control positions, stating that “Ziff’s decision to further undermine CNET’s human authority is disturbing” given the outlet’s recent credibility crisis1.