THR, Billboard sack over 100 workers, bosses branded 'fat, drunk and stupid' on company's own website
Valence Media, the parent company of media outlets like The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Bick Clark Productions and Media Rights Capital has sacked its entire IT team in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The company sought to take the step after slashing its budget amid the recession that the rapidly plummeting economy is struggling with at this time of crisis.
One fired employee, however, decided on the road not taken and in a rebellious move, took to the Billboard website, to write a scathing post and let the world know about his loss of job. The post was written under the byline 'devops' on April 14 but was quickly deleted thereafter.
The post was an announcement about the mass layoff of Billboard's employees and was accompanied by a photograph of the character Flounder, portrayed by Stephen Furst in 'National Lampoon's Animal House', and included a quote from the movie as well.
“In the wake of [the] Covid-19 pandemic, Valence Media has decided to lay off their entire web IT staff. Effective today. The online Billboard Charts are essentially perfect, so IT staff are no longer needed. Fat drunk and stupid is no way to go through life… #SavingABuckAtYourExpense,” said the post.
Following this, several laid-off employees took to social media to share their disappointment.
One ex-employee said, "I'm one of the many who were laid off at Billboard today. Working with these incredible journalists has been a dream the last 2+ years. Many dreams came true while I was there — I hung out with Mariah and Patti Smith, cmon! — and I'm grateful for all of it, every minute."
"Myself & a ton of INCREDIBLY talented folks at Billboard/VIBE were laid off today. I truly don’t know how to feel, but I’m grateful for giving Billboard a voice they were missing two years before I got there. Taking a mental break, but I’ll share when I’m ready to freelance," added another ex-staffer.
The layoffs at Valence Media began on April 14 and several senior writers and editors lost their jobs. According to Axios, a memo from co-CEOs Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczykh that was circulated to the staff informed that the company laid off 30 percent of its workforce within its editorial division.
A source close to the Variety said eight people had been given the dismissal at Dick Clark Productions, a production company and three employees from the films, television and data divisions of Media Rights Capital, a Hollywood Studio.
Another source that was familiar with cuts said that at least 100 people would be laid off at THR and Billboard. Both the magazines will cut back on its print frequency with Billboard publishing only one issue per month through the summer. It will only assume its regular publishing rhythm in the fall. THR is also expected to publish less often that its usual frequency.
The news comes days after THR's editorial director Matthew Belloni stepped down following disagreements with Valence Media and MRC executives over editorial coverage. They reportedly pressured him and the editorial team to lighten their coverage to suit those movies and celebrities that had a business connection with the parent company.
Valence Media, meanwhile, has taken additional measures to ensure economic stability during the crisis, Axios reported. The measures include hiring freezes and salary reductions. According to the memo that the staff that was let go received, the salary reductions "affect only those making more than one hundred thousand dollars per year and increase progressively, with the highest-paid shouldering the biggest percentages."
The company has also created a program that lets employees affected by the reduction in salary to rebate their losses based on the future success of the company. The money obtained from the salary cuts will go to a collective pool that will be used to recoup any losses in the company's future, said a source familiar with the plans to Axios. The co-CEOs have asserted that they will forego their full salaries and not participate in the rebatement plan. Another source confirmed that the two CEOs haven't obtained their salaries for the past three weeks.
Furthermore, the co-CEOs said in the memo that they have provided severance packages to the employees impacted, which includes six months of extended health care.