BuzzFeed News, the Pulitzer Prize-winning digital media company, is shutting down its news division and laying off another 15% of its staff. This comes after earlier layoffs made earlier this year, adding to the company-wide staff cuts. The move is part of BuzzFeed‘s efforts to address worsening economic conditions caused by plummeting digital advertising revenue.

In a memo to staff, co-founder and CEO Jonah Peretti said that the layoffs would affect the company’s business, content, tech, administrative teams, and international markets. Christian Baesler, the company’s chief operating officer, and Edgar Hernandez, its chief revenue officer, will also be leaving after assisting with the restructuring.

Peretti explained that he had made the mistake of overinvesting in the news division and failed to recognize that the financial support needed to sustain operations was not there. “I’ve learned from these mistakes, and the team moving forward has learned from them as well,” Peretti wrote. “We know that the changes and improvements we are making today are necessary steps to building a better future.”

BuzzFeed had established itself as a serious contender in the news business, winning a Pulitzer Prize in 2021 for international reporting. However, over the years, advertisers, on which BuzzFeed relies, have broadly pulled back on spending to address rising costs. This has affected the company’s profitability, leading to staff cuts.

The news of BuzzFeed News shutting down has been met with disappointment and sadness by journalists who previously worked at BuzzFeed. Ben Smith, BuzzFeed’s editor from 2011 to 2020 and now editor in chief of Semafor, said that he was “heartsick about it” and proud of the great journalism the company did when he was there and after he left. BuzzFeed‘s shutdown “really marks the end of the marriage between news and social media,” he added.

Despite the shutdown of the news division, BuzzFeed said that all of its work would be preserved and available within the BuzzFeed network. The company is also working to ensure that any stories currently in progress will be published and promoted on BuzzFeed properties.

BuzzFeed, founded by Peretti in 2006 and initially known for listicles and online quizzes, had diversified into news and established itself as a serious contender in the media industry. The company’s recent struggles reflect the challenges that many digital media companies are facing, with the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating the decline in advertising revenue. With digital advertising revenue plummeting, the future of many digital media companies remains uncertain.