Vice to lay off hundreds, stop publishing content on website [Video]

Vice Media will cease publishing to its website and lay off several hundred staffers as the beleaguered publisher makes “fundamental changes” to its “strategic vision” under its new private equity ownership, chief executive Bruce Dixon announced Thursday in a memo to staff.

“This decision was not made lightly, and I understand the significant impact it will have on those affected,” Dixon told staffers in the memo, obtained by CNN, adding that employees impacted by the layoffs will be notified early next week.

Dixon said that Vice Media had determined it is “no longer cost-effective” for the company to distribute its digital content the way it has in the past. Instead, Dixon said that Vice Media will “look to partner with established media companies to distribute our digital content, including news, on their global platforms, as we fully transition to a studio model,” he said.

Dixon said the women’s lifestyle-focused site …