‘Insider’ To Cut 10% Of Its Staff, Claims ChatGPT Did Not Influence The Decision

What’s going on: 

Insider – formerly known as Business Insider – announced that it is laying off 10% of its workforce. The major layoffs will affect many of the unionized workers at the company and may also involve letting go members of the digital publication’s writing staff, according to Business Standard.
 

The company said that any staff members being released will receive 13 weeks of their base pay with two additional weeks for each year they worked – up to four years. Additionally, the workers impacted by the layoffs will receive medical coverage through August 2023, and career support services. 

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Why it matters: 

The economic challenges experienced at Insider seem to be affecting other digital media publications across the entire industry. A growing number of digital and traditional media outlets are laying off workers. The digital publication Buzzfeed recently announced that it is cutting 15% of its staff and has plans in the works to end its Pulitzer Prize-winning BuzzFeed News, according to WSJ.  

Other outlets have announced smaller layoffs this year including CNN, the Washington Post, NPR, and Vox Media. News Corp – which owns both the Wallstreet Journal and HarperCollins publishers – expects to lay off 1,250 people across all its business by the end of 2023.

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How it’ll impact the future: 

Layoffs at Insider are another addition to a growing list of digital media outlets that are experiencing either slight or major downsizing in staff.  

Insider’s global editor Nicholas Carlson sent out a memo this month explaining that the company is experimenting with ways to use AI technologies – like ChatGPT – to help with journalism tasks. However, the company denies that the experiments with upcoming AI technologies have influenced the decision to cut its workforce. The cuts amount to around roughly 100 of its 950 staffers globally, according to New York Post. 

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