Funny or Die Making Cutbacks

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Sometimes, in order for a company to remain viable, they’ve got to trim the fat. That’s exactly what popular comedy website Funny or Die did this week when they announced that the jobs of roughly 37 of its employees had been terminated. The cuts have reduced the company’s staff from around 132 people down to 95 and have shuttered the doors of the company’s San Mateo office.

In a statement on Tuesday, the company had this to say about their decision:

“While Funny or Die has grown as a company over the last several years, we’ve remained committed to creating premium comedy. As we move into the future, we’ve decided to double-down and re-focus on making the kind of content that made us a household name in the first place. To accomplish that, we’ve had to reorganize and reduce our staff. This isn’t an easy process for any of us. As necessary as these steps may be, we value every single one of the contributors we’ve had to part ways with. They’ve been integral in making us the company we are today, and we thank them for their dedication and friendship.”

The Hollywood Reporter is theorizing that the cuts, which mostly affected engineers in the company’s app division, are an attempt to make the company more appealing to potential buyers. Last year, the company was in talks with a few companies, including Viacom, about selling, but ultimately never signed a deal. This could indicate that the company is trying to reduce its personnel numbers to essential staff in order to make acquisition easier this time around. It could also, of course, just be an effort by newly-promoted CEO Mike Farah and company to refocus Funny or Die’s efforts towards their regular online fare and away from appealing to mobile users.

Until official word from Funny or Die comes out, we’ll just have to wait and see what the end-game of this decision really is. In the meantime, let’s hope that this doesn’t hinder the output of brilliant and hilarious sketches that the site provides on a regular basis.

 

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Bill Tressler

Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.
Bill Tressler

Bill Tressler

Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.