BuzzFeed Canada Union Statement on the Closure of HuffPost Canada and HuffPost Québec

Today, BuzzFeed announced the closure of HuffPost Canada and HuffPost Québec as well as layoffs at HuffPost US.

The BuzzFeed Canada union is devastated for our colleagues, many of whom have given years of their careers to HuffPost Canada and Quebec. Their work has been invaluable and dynamic in a stagnant Canadian media landscape. The loss of their voices will be felt across the country.

In its nearly ten years of operation, HuffPost Canada has been an award-winning and integral part of how Canadians get their news. We cannot overstate the loss of an entire publication from this country’s media ecosystem.

We also strongly condemn the decision to take these websites’ homepages offline barely an hour after employees were told of their impending closure, and without warning.

The employees at HuffPost Canada and Quebec had just unionized weeks before this announcement. We stand in solidarity with the HuffPost Canada union and ask BuzzFeed to provide fair and generous severance that recognizes the dedication of these employees.