Massive job cuts at Business Insider follow the site losing around half its traffic over the last five years.
Press Gazette analysis shows that entertainment, environment, audience growth, personal finance and technology are among the reporter roles hardest hit by a decision to cut 21% of jobs (at least 100 people). Press Gazette has produced a complete list of known Business Insiders leavers at the end of this story.
Senior names exiting the business include: executive editor Ariel Schwartz, personal finance executive editor Libby Kane and finance editor Jeffrey Cane.
The cutbacks reflect falling advertising revenue and also a change in strategy at Business Insider away from chasing high traffic towards instead focusing more on paid subscribers. Audience growth and entertainment reporters are among the roles being cut. But many senior investigative journalists producing the sort of content which might drive subscriptions have also been cut, reflecting the fact the changes look likely to be as much about cost-saving as they are about changing editorial priorities.
Business Insider has not reported subscriber numbers since November 2023 when it claimed to have 330,000 paying readers.
Press Gazette has spoken to former Business Insider staffers to better understand what has changed at the online newsbrand which had around 1,000 staff at the end of 2022, but could have around half that figure once the latest round of cuts are completed.
Insiders have expressed concern at Business Insider CEO Barbara Peng’s assertion that the company was going “all in on AI” in the same note announcing the lay-offs.
The NUJ represents 15 out of 23 UK Business Insider staff who are facing redundancy. A spokesperson for union members at the company said: “AI will never replace journalists, not unless the future media bosses want is one where content is regurgitated in perpetuity, getting increasingly warped and unrecognisable. In that world, original ideas don’t exist and the powerful are never held to account. We all deserve better than that.”
The job cuts are also reflect a scaling-back of Business Insider’s ambitions since its failed bid to become a general newsbrand in the years from the start of 2021 to the end of 2023 when it rebranded as Insider. It is instead focusing back on business coverage, which drives higher rates of advertising and is more likely to prompt subscriptions.
Business Insider has announced cuts every year since 2023, when it had around 950 staff of which 600 were believed to be in editorial. Some 10% of US staff were cut that year, with a further 8% of worldwide staff going the following year.
The latest job cuts have targeted 21% of the remaining total (which has been falling steadily since 2023 due to a long-standing hiring freeze) so likely at at least another 100 people.
One well-placed source said they believe the latest cuts would leave the company no more than half the size it was in headcount terms at its peak pre-2023.
Successive Google algorithm updates have hurt Business Insider traffic in recent years as has Facebook’s move away from working with news publishers.
Press Gazette analysis of Business Insider traffic using Similarweb data shows a fall from around 160 million visitors per month in 2020 to around 80 million visitors per month in the first half of 2025.
CEO Peng said in her note to staff on 29 May: “As Insider, we cast a wide net, covering a broad range of topics. Some of those still align with our strategy, stories that spotlight the smart moves (and mistakes!) people make as they actually experience the world.
“At the same time, we’re scaling back on categories that once performed well on other platforms but no longer drive meaningful readership or aren’t areas where we can lead.”
She said Business Insider was scrapping most of its e-commerce business (earning money from click-throughs to recommended products with a commission on sales), because if its reliance on search.
She said Business Insider is also launching a “live journalism events business” called BI Live. Events have been a growing revenue source for many media businesses since the end of pandemic lockdowns.
She noted that the company is actively encouraging employees to use Enterprise ChatGPT in their work, with a target of 100% doing so.
But generative AI has so far proved a limited technology when it comes to the creation of journalism. Because AI-generated answers are prone to inaccuracies and hallucinations, any copy created using generative AI has to be closely checked by editors, thereby limiting time savings.
Less dynamic (but also less sensational)
Business Insider launched as Silicon Valley Insider in 2007 and for many years was known as an energetic, and some said chaotic, place to work which saw individual journalists write multiple stories per day to drive maximum traffic.
The company was bought by Axel Springer in a deal which valued it at $442m in 2015.
Two former staffers told Press Gazette there has been a change of atmosphere at the title since the departure of CEO Henry Blodget in 2023,and long-serving editor in chief Nicholas Carlson in mid 2024 and many other long-serving executives. The company has become less chaotic but also more ponderous, according to one well-placed source.
There has been a definite shift of editorial tone since Jamie Heller joined as editor in chief September 2024 after 20 years at the Wall Street Journal (an upmarket mainly subscription-focused newsbrand).
One former insider said the newsroom went from being entirely traffic-focused towards having an emphasis on delivering scoops, and quality journalism that is respected (with traffic less spoken about by editorial leadership).
One former staffer said they were banned from publishing sensational headlines with emphatic adjectives in them (after staff had previously been trained how to do just that).
They said there has been far more emphasis on straight reporting, more akin to a Wall Street Journal way of working than the old Business Insider way.
They said the ethos is “let the facts do their job”. But they added: “It comes from a place where there is an expectation of the audience coming to you, not what we had been trained to do previously which was selling stories so they would stand out on social media in a crowded market”.
Long-serving staffers hard hit by cutbacks
Many of those being cut had been with the company for ten years or more, with most having at least five years of service. Some have been at Business Insider since joining as interns or graduates and are clearly shocked to find themselves suddenly out of work.
US staffers were fired immediately on 29 May while the 23 UK Business Insider staff have currently been placed at risk of redundancy pending a consultation process.
UK senior reporter Lindsay Dodgson’s comment on Linkedin is typical of the notes posted by many Business Insider staffers this week. She said: “The list [of redundancies] is full of award winners, scoop machines, long-timers, and reporters with deep expertise and wide ranging contact books – the heart of the company…
“My heart is breaking as I keep hearing more names of ridiculously smart and one of a kind colleagues in the US who have been let go. Many of them friends I’ve known for years.”
Business Insider correspondent Hugh Langley (who was not among those axed) said on Linkedin: “A lot of extraordinarily talented people at Business Insider were either laid off or told their job is at risk. These weren’t the type of performance-related cuts we often write about. These were whip-smart, hard-working, scoop-grabbing reporters, editors, video producers, visual designers, product designers, marketers, and others impacted by a brutal media landscape.”
‘Newsrooms cannot run on the fumes of overworked junior talent’
A UK Business Insider union spokesperson said: “Our union was incredibly disheartened to hear that 15 of our bargaining unit is at risk of redundancy. The list is full of people integral to our newsroom, including award winners and seasoned reporters with a wealth of experience.
“BI’s leaders say they are leaning into quality, yet they have targeted a multitude of talented, experienced staff across the UK and US.
“Just last month, the company agreed to work with the UK union on a career progression plan because so many staff in the London bureau felt they were stagnating and weren’t being aptly rewarded for their work. With these layoffs, they have been proven right and then some.
“How does getting rid of experienced reporters with countless contacts and a huge amount of respect in their fields help the company progress? Newsrooms cannot run on the fumes of overworked junior talent at the bottom of the ladder alone. What does that say about career progression and the value of strong, ambitious journalism?”
Editor in chief Heller said in a statement: “I believe deeply in what we are building. These changes also mean we are losing excellent, inspiring, fun, talented journalists and team members across our organisation.”
Press Gazette has collated a list of those known to have either been laid off by Business Insider (in the US) or placed at risk of redundancy (in the UK) with Linkedin links. If you know of someone who should be added to this list email domincp@pressgazette.co.uk.
US Business Insider redundancies
Rhea Mahbubani Kamal – managing editor People and diversity, equity and inclusion. Previously an editor on the politics team.
Madeline Stone – correspondent covering e-commerce and tech, 12 years with the company after joining as intern.
Will Storey – senior managing producer working on World Wide Waste, Big Business and other video shows broadcast on Youtube.
Ben Cortes – software engineering manager.
Ariel Schwartz – Business Insider’s executive editor with ten years service.
Catherine Boudreau – senior sustainability reporter. She said on LinkedIn that following her exit “the company doesn’t have anyone dedicated to covering climate and the energy transition”.
Vishal Persaud, senior editor for venture capital and start-ups coverage.
Malorie Gokey: Director of learning and development, people and culture who (among other things:): “Created AI training program and learning materials, while consulting on leadership’s AI tools rollout strategy.”
Jeffrey Cane – finance editor.
Kit Pulliam – banking reporter.
Virginia Alves – senior audience editor. who worked largely on Facebook traffic-boosting initiatives.
Michelle Yan Huang – senior audience editor, video, working with platforms like Youtube, Facebook and Snapchat.
Laine Napoli – Audience journalist.
Libby Kane – Executive editor for Personal Finance Insider with 11 years service.
Avril Ayers – Personal finance editor.
Olivia Singh – senior entertainment reporter.
Rob Price – senior correspondent with ten years service conducting investigations into the tech industry, based in San Fransico.
Adam Rogers – senior technology correspondent.
Matt Drange – senior correspondent working on investigations.
Graham Rapier – senior editor, transportation, with more than eight years service.
Tara Lerman – Senior managing editor Insider Studios, delivering branded content.
Bree Cubit – senior editor special projects.
Robin Ngai – senior editorial operations manager.
Jenny Chang-Rodriguez – design director
UK Business Insider staff at risk of redundancy
Because of differing UK employment law, the 23 affected Business Insider UK staff are only currently at risk of redundancy pending the outcome of the statutory consultation period.
But Press Gazette understands those placed on the at-risk list include:
Joshua Nelken-Zitster – senior reporter who was highly commended in the 2024 British Journalism Awards for an investigation into the treatment transgender people in Iran.
Eve Crosbie – senior weekend reporter is one of two UK-based weekend reporters being let go. Over the last year the team has reduced in size from seven people through non-replacement of staff.
Ayomikun Adekaiyero – entertainment reporter.
Eammon Jacobs – entertainment reporter.
Lindsay Dodgson – senior reporter covering business, tech and internet culture.
Jyoti Mann – senior tech reporter, who last week revealed Meta had plans to invest in physical shops.
Mia Jancowicz – senior reporter covering defence.
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