May 14 (Reuters) - Business Insider is laying off fewer than 5% of its global newsroom staff, a spokesperson said on Thursday, as the media company looks to invest in areas that drive more readership.
The news publisher is undergoing a realignment of its editorial coverage, leading to some staff departures, according to an internal memo from Editor in Chief Jamie Heller.
"We are continuing to sharpen our coverage around the areas where we have deep relationships with our core loyal audience. Our goal is to be indispensable on the topics that matter most to them," Heller said in the memo seen by Reuters on Thursday.
User traffic from search is declining for publishers as AI-powered responses from search engines like Google summarize content, surfacing content above website links and threatening traditional business models.
Advertisers typically allocate their budgets on platforms with a highly engaged audience, but with people increasingly turning to AI assistants such as ChatGPT for information, news publishers are losing audience attention.
New York-based Business Insider has decided to scale back in "few places, including legal affairs," while it continues to invest in areas such as workplace and financial markets, according to the memo.
Business Insider said it has around 250 employees in the newsroom. The company had laid off around 21% and 8% of its workforce in 2025 and 2024, respectively.
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 in November 2023.
(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
By Jaspreet Singh
