Tech news site Engadget makes layoffs in restructuring

Engadget general manager Sarah Priestley sent out the following to the staff on Thursday:

Team,

In Engadget’s 20 years-long history, the site has been at the forefront of tech journalism, and I have profound respect for the brand that’s been built and the impact made thus far.

Looking forward, our intent is to continue as a leading brand in this space. However, to ensure we remain relevant and sustainable for the long haul, we need to make some strategic shifts. I am reaching out today to share that we’re making changes to our organization, which will allow us to streamline our work, increase our velocity and ultimately deliver the best content to our readers.

What’s changing

In a bid to simplify efforts across our main avenues of growth, we will be dividing the team into two sub-teams:

• News and Features, led by Aaron Souppouris — This team will comprise Reporters and News Desk Editors, as well as our News Contributors, Weekend and Evening Editors. The main charter of this group will be traffic growth through high-quality, timely coverage.
• Reviews and Buying Advice, led by John Falcone under Laura Kenney — This team will continue their work with a greater focus on Evergreen content and guides under the leadership of John Falcone, who is currently reporting directly to Laura Kenney.

Our current Product and Engineering teams will shift to the Platform team within the Home Eco organization. Engadget will still have dedicated Product and Engineering support, and Justin Cauchon will remain on the Engadget Leadership team.

Unfortunately, some of our teammates will not be part of the go-forward strategy. These were incredibly difficult decisions, and I want to thank those who will be leaving us for all they’e done for Engadget and our team. Those who are impacted in the U.S. have been notified and we are following local processes and procedures for those impacted outside of the U.S.

What’s next

Despite reporting line changes, we will still meet regularly as a team and continue with our short and long-term goals for Engadget, including efforts to improve the site experience and technical infrastructure. Collaboration with other teams, from Sales to SEO and others, is key as we move forward. Leveraging the support we have available to us outside of the immediate Engadget group will be more important than ever.

Our mission is unchanged. Engadget will continue to be home to everything from breaking tech news to in-depth reviews, live event coverage, longform reporting and more. And while change is never easy, I’m optimistic that these shifts will support the future growth of the site and set us up for the long term.

We’ll hold an All Hands session on Monday 26th where I’ll expand upon these changes and address any questions you have. You can pre-submit questions via the Slido (link will be in the meeting invite). Please also feel free to reach out directly if you have any immediate needs.

We’ll talk more soon,

Sarah

Among those leaving is editor in chief Dana Wollman and nine other staffers.