Business Insider to lay off around 8% of its workforce

(Reuters) - News website Business Insider is set to lay off around 8% of its staff, CEO Barbara Peng said on Thursday, joining a wave of layoffs that have swept the tech and media industry this month.

Media companies have been under pressure over the past year as advertisers pull back on spending due to still-high borrowing costs. Other news publications including the Los Angeles Times and Conde Nast too had laid off staff.

"We have already begun to refocus teams and invest in areas that drive outsize value for our core audience," Peng said in a post on Business Insider's website.

"Unfortunately, this also means we need to scale back in some areas of our organization."

The company will offer the outgoing employees a minimum of 13 weeks pay and medical coverage through May.

German publishing giant Axel Springer SE acquired a majority stake in Insider in 2015 and retired the "Business Insider" name in 2021 as it looked to expand coverage.

However, the company reversed the move when co-founder Henry Blodget stepped down as the CEO of the publication in November.

The layoffs follow similar moves across the tech industry including at companies such as Alphabet, eBay and Amazon.com as they look to streamline operations and improve efficiency.

(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru)