Embattled Vice Media cutting jobs, pulls plug on ‘Vice News Tonight’

Vice Media Group said Thursday it will cancel the popular TV program “Vice News Tonight” as part of a broader restructuring that will result in job cuts across the digital media firm’s global news business.

“In response to the current market conditions and business realities facing VMG and the broader news and media industry, we are moving forward on some painful but necessary reductions, primarily across our News business,” co-CEOs Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala told employees in a memo, without specifying the exact number of job cuts.

The restructuring caps years of financial difficulties and top-executive departures from the media company, which is exploring a sale.

VMG also joins several other media and technology firms that have had to downsize in recent months due to a challenging economy and a weak advertising market.

Last week, BuzzFeed said it would shutter its news division, which gained renown for its irreverent and probing coverage but ultimately succumbed to the challenges of its digital-first business model.