New Patch Owner Lays Off Hundreds

Just two weeks after Hale Global took Patch off AOL's hands, at least 80-90 percent of the "hyperlocal" news website's employees were laid off today, according to some sources.

(Tim Boyle, Getty Images)

Forbes.com reported that "Having waited a decent interval, Patch’s new owners acted today, laying off most of the hyperglobal network’s employees, according to reports by Jim Romenesko and Business Insider." The exact number of employees who were let go has yet to be reported, but it likely tops 400 people across the country.

Back in August, AOL laid off nearly 400 people with the hopes of downsizing the company enough to prevent a disastrous fourth quarter. Prior to that, in May, about 40 employees - many of them managers of various regions - were also laid off.

Patch did not acknowledge the layoffs on it's Twitter account today, but former editor-in-chief Brian Farnham mentioned the situation on his Facebook page.

"To all my friends and former colleagues at Patch who lost their jobs today: you're in my thoughts. Feel like I've had to post a message like this too often over last year or so," Farnham said. "At the risk of repeating myself: everyone who worked at Patch who believed in it and sweated blood for it is a pioneer who should be extremely proud of themselves. What you did inevitably shaped the way local and digital news will be produced and executed ever after"

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