Hundreds of employees have been laid off from Patch, the local journalism outlet previously owned by AOL, according to a report.
Various sources told media journalist Jim Romenesko that between two-thirds and 90% of Patch's employees were let go by private equity firm Hale Global — a majority of the staff. Before today, Patch employed about 600 people.
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Romenesko also posted audio to Soundcloud, reportedly a recording of the call notifying employees of their terminations. It features a voice that identifies itself as Leigh Zarelli Lewis, the chief operating officer of Patch, who informs listeners that receiving this message means they have been laid off.
Hale Global has decided which Patch employees will receive an offer of employment to move forward in accordance with their vision for Patch and which will not. Unfortunately, your role has been eliminated and you will no longer have a role at Patch and today will be your last day of employment with the company.
Neither AOL nor Hale Global immediately respond to request for comment.
The editor of Patch's Sommerville, Mass., branch posted a message to the group's Facebook page stating he had been laid off.
"Some of you may learn in the next hours and days that a number of colleagues and I were just laid off by Patch. That means I will no longer be running Somerville Patch," wrote Chris Orchard, who posted his title as "former editor of Somerville Patch."
The editor of a Patch outlet in Hamden, Conn., also took to Facebook with the news: "Today hundreds of Patch employees were laid off by the company that recently bought Patch, and I am one of them, and this time it's for good."
AOL sold control of Patch to Hale earlier this month, a company that bills itself as a turnaround specialist. Founded by current AOL CEO Tim Armstrong, Patch had a long-running struggle to achieve profitability, which had spurred previous layoffs.
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