BuzzFeed, HuffPost and Tasty are cutting around 180 jobs, marking the first major restructuring under new majority owner Byron Allen. The layoffs follow BuzzFeed's warning in March that it faced "substantial doubt" about its ability to continue as a going concern, before Allen intervened with an investment to stabilise the company; the cuts are aimed at putting the business on a path to sustainable profitability.

BuzzFeed had roughly 510 staff across all its units before the reductions. In May, Allen struck a $120 million deal to take a 52% majority stake and the CEO role from founder Jonah Peretti, funded via $20 million in cash and a $100 million promissory note due in five years. The company's latest quarterly results showed advertising revenue down almost 20% year-on-year and a net loss of $15.1 million, up from $12.5 million a year earlier, with its next earnings report due on 4 August. Allen, whose separate Allen Media Group has previously undergone its own layoffs and asset sales, has said he wants BuzzFeed and HuffPost content to help power a streaming platform, Local Now, within five years.