investors have pressured CEO Jonah Peretti to shut down the whole newsroom.

BuzzFeed is reducing the size of its money-losing journalism department, the firm stated Tuesday, amid investor concerns that the division is dragging the company down, according to people familiar with the situation.

According to the persons, several significant shareholders have pressured BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti to shut down the entire news unit. BuzzFeed did not respond to a request for comment.

According to two of the people, BuzzFeed News, which is part of the company's content business, employs about 100 people and loses about $10 million each year. The business's full-year content sales increased by 9% to $130 million in 2021, according to the corporation, which also has advertising and commerce operations.

According to CNBC, shutting down the newsroom may add up to $300 million to the faltering stock's market capitalization. In December, the digital media company went public through a special purpose acquisition vehicle. The stock dropped nearly 40% in its first week of trade and has yet to recover.

After the firm reported earnings and this news was revealed, BuzzFeed's shares plummeted on Tuesday.

For years, Peretti has been an outspoken proponent of BuzzFeed News, calling it "good for the world, good for business, and excellent for our company culture." The newsroom of the company has received numerous prizes, including the Pulitzer Prize and the George Polk Award.

"This morning, we announced initiatives to boost BuzzFeed News' profitability, including leadership changes, the addition of a dedicated business development division, and a projected force reduction," Peretti stated on Tuesday. "We'll focus our investments on the day's most important news, culture and entertainment, celebrity, and online life."

According to a source familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified since the decision is private, the company has offered voluntary buyouts to less than 30 employees. Only reporters and editors who have worked for the company for more than a year and cover investigations, inequality, politics, or science are eligible for the buyout. BuzzFeed intends to make a buyout offer to the New York NewsGuild for its U.S. employees.

Peretti is striving to make BuzzFeed News profitable rather than shutting it down. He has a ready-made template: after acquiring HuffPost from Verizon Media last year, he decided to lay off 70 employees.

"We don't have the resources to support another two years of losses," Peretti remarked at the time, despite the fact that BuzzFeed is a successful company. "The most responsible thing we can do is manage our costs and make sure BuzzFeed — and HuffPost — are well-positioned to thrive in the long run." That's why we've made the difficult decision to restructure HuffPost in order to accelerate our path to profitability. This year, we want HuffPost to break even."

According to a source close to the company, HuffPost is now profitable.