‘Not profitable’: Brut Hindi to ‘shut down’, lays off 13 of 15 employees

Brut Hindi employees had convened for their usual editorial meeting, geared with story ideas, on Friday, when Brut vice president and editor-in-chief Mehak Kasbekar announced its management’s decision to shut the channel’s Hindi vertical. She said the unit, which was started two years ago, did not turn a profit.

At least 13 of the total 15 employees of the vertical were laid off. These included five video editors and two associated with the branding team. Out of the eight employees that comprise Brut Hindi’s editorial team, six were informed that their employment was being terminated. 

The channel retained the Hindi editor, whose contract is set to expire in December, and one other employee from the production team. Newslaundry was told that the two staffers will help in “knowledge transfer to resume full operations if Brut’s financials improve in the future”.  

In the meeting, Kasbekar reportedly said that France-headquartered Brut has decided to shut its unprofitable or loss-making verticals because of the economic crisis unfolding in France.

A senior employee at the video-driven platform told Newslaundry that the staff will be paid compensation on the basis of their employment tenure with the organisation. “It has been decided that some will be paid six months’ salary while others will get four months’ salary. At the very least, two months’ salary is being given.”

They further said: “Our team was doing fantastic work. We were doing great work with limited resources. Brut Hindi had created a good space within two years. People were copying our video-style. But it is also true that Hindi was not making money. We were unable to make enough for even our salaries. The decision was made from France in such a situation. Now we have to regretfully bid farewell to our magnificent partners.”

On retaining the two editorial employees, the official said, “The employees have been retained so that something keeps getting published on the platform. This will help restart the vertical if Brut’s financial situation improves in the future.”

Most employees at Brut Hindi did not anticipate its shutdown. One of the employees told Newslaundry that a journalist was recently sent an offer letter but eventually her hiring was stopped. “We had some doubts after that. We were talking about it among ourselves, but no one had thought that the vertical would be closed.”

Editor-in-chief Kasbekar told Newslaundry that Brut was charting its “next phase of growth”. She said, “In less than seven years, Brut has built a sustainable and profitable business model…As we chart our next phase of growth, we are optimising our model to focus on strategic business goals and innovate to cater to the continuously evolving needs of the audiences.”