The editor in chief and the managing editor of Vice Media’s website have both been let go, the new executive overseeing the media outlet’s digital offerings said in an email to the staff on Tuesday.
“In making changes to the organizational structure of the digital editorial group, we had to make difficult decisions that mean Jonathan Smith and Rachel Schallom are no longer with the company,” Katie Drummond, who was named senior vice president for digital in March, wrote in an email obtained by The New York Times.
Mr. Smith had been at Vice for a decade and was editor in chief for three years, according to his LinkedIn page. Ms. Schallom had been managing editor for less than a year.
The departures followed the company’s decision to shelve several websites under the Vice.com umbrella in a bid to streamline in a sea of red ink. Vice laid off 10 percent of its staff this year, and the Walt Disney Company, which owns a little more than a quarter of Vice, has said in securities filings over the past year that it has written down more than $500 million of its investment in the company.
Late last year, Nancy Dubuc, Vice’s chief executive, said Vice would be profitable by the next fiscal year, despite a more challenging climate for digital media outlets as Facebook and Google increasingly dominate the online advertising market.
Vice has lately focused on its studios division, which produces video content for streaming sites; “Vice News Tonight,” a daily show on HBO; and its own cable channel, Viceland.
Vice has also tried to reform its internal culture since a Times investigation in December 2017 revealed mistreatment of women at the company, with more than two dozen women saying they experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct there.
A Vice spokeswoman did not reply to a request for comment.