Vice will be cutting salaries for employees who make over $100,000 per year and halting the matching of 401k contributions for 60 days, as the coronavirus pandemic crushes ad revenue, CNN reports.
The cuts, which are in place for the next 90 days, look like this, according to CNN: CEO Nancy Dubuc will be taking a 50% pay cut. Those making $100,000 – $125,000 per year will be taking 10% while those making more than $125,000 will get a 20% pay cut on top of being reduced to four-day workweeks. And higher-paid executives will take 25% cuts.
Promotions are also suspended until July, which one Vice insider told TheWrap “makes sense.”
“If things turn around sooner, other decisions will be made,” they added.
The cuts and adjustments at Vice come the same day American newspaper giant Gannett told its staff that anyone making over $38,000 would be subject to furloughs of one unpaid week per month through June, sparking outrage among industry professionals online.
Digital outlets and local newspapers are taking a beating as the novel coronavirus rips apart the American economy and ways of life — with some facing an existential crisis as the duration and severity of the pandemic and its aftermath remains unknown.
Just in the past few weeks, numerous local papers have folded, laid off staff or cut back operations as advertising — the foundation of papers’ revenue — has disappeared with the closures of local restaurants, bars, shops and event venues.