Layoffs hit Ziff Davis publications

Ziff Davis, the media company that owns outlets such as CNET, ZDNet, PCMag, and Mashable, is laying off 15 percent of its unionized workforce, for a total of 23 people, reports Mia Sato at The Verge.

Satol writes, “The majority of layoffs are coming from CNET, where 19 people will lose their jobs — even as Ziff Davis goes on a shopping spree. The layoffs will hit CNET coverage areas like the finance, broadband, and sleep beats, as well as the outlet’s copy desk. A handful of staffers across Lifehacker, Mashable, and ZDNet will also be laid off.

“‘It’s very clear to us that these cuts aren’t about journalism,’ Anna Iovine, unit chair of the Ziff Davis Creators Guild, says. ‘They’re based on money and greed.’ Iovine noted particular concerns about cutting copy editors and fact checkers.

“‘Eliminating any coverage is really devastating. These journalists, some of them have decades of experience, and we’re losing [that],’ Iovine says.

“Ziff Davis has acquired five other companies this year alone, most notably daily news outlet TheSkimm and health outlet Well+Good. CNET was acquired by Ziff Davis in 2024 for $100 million. Ziff Davis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.