Buzzfeed Australia GM Simon Crerar becomes first victim of local redundancies
Buzzfeed Australia’s general manager, Simon Crerar, is one of the first casualties of the site’s global round of redundancies which is expected to see 11 of its 40 local staff lose their jobs.
“Sadly my role at BuzzFeed has been made redundant. It has been the most exciting, fun and fulfilling job of my life,” Crerar told Mumbrella.
“I’m enormously proud of everything my team has achieved over the past five years. While this is a sad moment for me and other affected colleagues in Australia and overseas, I’m confident BuzzFeed will survive and thrive in the future.”
Crerar publicly announced his departure on Twitter saying: “Some personal news.. Like so many talented folk around the world, I have been laid off by BuzzFeed.”
Buzzfeed revealed a global 15% cut in roles late last month. A few days after the announcement, the company flagged 11 people would lose their jobs in the Australian office.
Mumbrella understands more job losses will be announced in coming days. Buzzfeed has been contacted for comment.
Crerar was founding editor of Buzzfeed Australia when it was launched in 2013 and made general manager four years later. Prior to joining the US-owned business, he had spent twelve years with News Corp in Australia and the UK.
In his farewell tweets, Crerar thanked the staff he’d worked with, saying: “I hired dozens of superstars over the past five years, some of the smartest, funniest, kindest people I’ve ever known. I’ve loved coming to work, every single day, and you definitely can’t say that about most jobs.”
Crerar also flagged that some of Buzzfeed Australia’s editorial team would remain with the business, tweeting: “It’s heartbreaking seeing such talent exit BuzzFeedOz this week, but Marni and a core crew of rockstars will keep the flag flying for @BuzzFeedNews locally, and I’ll be cheering them on from the sidelines.”
LadBible…. still keen to launch here?
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Same quote twice?
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Thanks. We’ve fixed that mistake.
Good to see him announce this without the usual bullshit and mumbo jumbo. Classy.