- Verizon (VZ +1%) is laying off 7% of staffers in its media group, the WSJ reports, the result of a months-long review by Tim Armstrong's successor at the unit.
- K. Guru Gowrappan joined Verizon last spring and on Oct. 1 officially took over from Armstrong at the head of Verizon Media Group, formerly Oath. That unit had wrapped up the former AOL/Yahoo media properties that Verizon acquired from Yahoo (NASDAQ:AABA).
- Now the business is going to narrow its focus, toward mobile and video-focused products, Gowrappan says in a mail to staffers.
- The cuts are said to affect Verizon Media globally and should amount to about 800 jobs. Verizon Media had 11,385 employees at the end of last year; it had 12,845 after Verizon bought Yahoo.
- Gowrappan says his review found that Yahoo was one of the strongest brands in the business, and that execs have focused more on the concept of "membership" to encourage users to spend time on company properties.
- He's also stopped some efforts to sell brands, suggesting that's too time-consuming and opting to close them outright instead.
- Now read: Verizon: 5G Technology Is Worth Tens Of Billions
Original article