Mic laid off the majority of its staff

Peter Kafka covers media and technology, and their intersection, at Vox. Many of his stories can be found in his Kafka on Media newsletter, and he also hosts the Recode Media podcast.

Mic is laying off the majority off its staff while the digital publisher works on a deal to sell the remainder of its assets to Bustle Digital Group.

Mic CEO Chris Altchek announced the layoffs at a staff meeting this morning. Until today the company had employed more than 100 people. I’ve asked Mic to provide details on the layoffs, including the total number of people who will lose their jobs.

Cory Haik, Mic’s publisher, has already left the company. I’m told that under the proposed terms of the Bustle deal, Altchek and co-founder Jake Horowitz would stay on after the acquisition.

Mic raised more than $60 million to build a millennial-focused news company but couldn’t find a business model to support its costs, which include a one-floor office in Manhattan’s World Trade Center (an earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the size of Mic’s office).

Facebook recently cancelled a deal with Mic to publish a news video series. People familiar with the company say that move removed a crucial source of revenue and scared away potential acquirers and investors.

Update: Here’s Haik’s note to Mic employees announcing her departure:

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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