The Messenger, a digital news startup that launched last year with big ambitions, will cut about two dozen employees this week as it faces dwindling cash reserves, according to a person with knowledge of the decision.
Employees are expected to be laid off later this week as part of a cost-cutting measure, said the person, who would speak only anonymously because staff have not yet been notified. The company faces financial headwinds in a difficult digital advertising market that has restricted its operations, the person said.
In a statement, The Messenger said it was “in the midst of a second-round raise,” but the company declined to provide details on the amount of money it was seeking. The statement did not mention the layoffs.
Messenger has approximately 300 employees and publishes articles on politics, culture and news of general interest.
Richard Beckman, a former Condé Nast magazine executive and president of The Messenger, announced Tuesday that he was leaving the company, citing “short-term health issues.” Beckman was one of the first key hires of Jimmy Finkelstein, a veteran media executive who founded The Messenger.
When Finkelstein founded The Messenger last year, he said he had planned to make a big splash in the digital media industry. Finkelstein told The New York Times that he expected the company to attract 100 million monthly unique viewers by the end of 2024 and generate more than $100 million in annual revenue, goals that would put it in the same class as some major domestic competitors. .
