G/O Media Shuts Down Jezebel as Layoffs Hit Company
Jezebel was indefinitely suspended on Thursday as major layoffs hit G/O Media, The Daily Beast has learned.
The layoffs will affect 23 people, CEO Jim Spanfeller confirmed in a memo to staff on Thursday, and G/O Media editorial director Merrill Brown has also exited the company.
“Unfortunately, our business model and the audiences we serve across our network did not align with Jezebel’s,” Spanfeller wrote in the memo. “And when that became clear, we undertook an expansive search for a new, perhaps better home that might ensure Jezebel a path forward. It became a personal mission of Lea Goldman, who worked tirelessly on the project, talking with over two dozen potential buyers. It is a testament to Jezebel’s heritage and bonafides that so many players engaged us. Still, despite every effort, we could not find Jez a new home.”