Verizon Media Lays Off 7% of Workers

Verizon has laid off 7% of workers in its oft-reconfigured and rebranded digital media business, accounting for around 800 employees.

"These were difficult decisions, and we will ensure that our colleagues are treated with respect and fairness, and given the support they need," said Guru Gowrappan, Verizon Media's CEO, in a letter to employees. "I want to be clear that we will continue to scale, launch new products and innovate. We are an important part of Verizon.”

The move marks an unfortunate end of an expensive plan by Verizon to transition from a wireless and wireline focused telecom into a media giant that could compete with Google and Facebook for digital ad money.

Related: Verizon Clears Capital for 5G Investment by Laying Off 10,400 Workers

Along the way, Verizon purchased AOL for $4.6 billion, and Yahoo! for another $4.48 billion. In December, Verizon took a $4.6 billion write-down, acknowledging that its Oath Brands—the initiative wrought by the pricey acquisitions—had failed.

These tough moves don’t mark the end of the line for Verizon in the media business. The company is reportedly still high on components like Yahoo-branded news, sports, finance and entertainment portals, which remain vital content assets under new priorities that built around 5G mobile networks.

Verizon Digital Media Services is reportedly still a priority as well.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Verizon Media Group had 12,845 employees when it purchased Yahoo! in 2017. It had 11,385 at the end of 2018.

Verizon’s retrenchment comes as AT&T begins to integrate Time Warner Media into its longterm wireless broadband distribution plan, and Comcast ingests U.K. satellite TV company Sky to also transition into a global media power. 

Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!