Android Central, a blog covering the Android ecosystem, laid off its full-time staff yesterday but will keep operating, according to its owner Future. The site has continued to publish new posts, though the material is now coming from freelance contributors instead of the employees who were cut. The layoffs were publicly acknowledged by multiple staff members and former staff.
Four of the six people listed on Android Central's staff page posted about the layoffs: Shruti Shekar, Derrek Lee, Harish Jonnalagadda, and Nicholas Sutrich. Namerah Saud Fatmi, a former senior editor, updated her LinkedIn profile to show that her time at the site had ended. Lee, who served as managing editor, and Sutrich both confirmed that all remaining staff were let go. The former staffers said they were not told whether the site would shut down.
Future spokesperson Nicole Martineau told The Verge that the company will continue to publish Android Central and will share more information about the site's future in due course. She added that Future would not provide any additional comment at this time. The spokesperson's statement followed the public posts from the laid-off employees and the appearance of new articles on the site.
The cuts at Android Central come amid other recent layoffs in Android-focused technology publishing. Android Police, a separate blog covering the same beat, has also laid off at least two staffers, and its site currently lists an editorial team of four people. Valnet owns Android Police and previously purchased Polygon, a sister site of The Verge. Valnet did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
For readers in the United States, the changes affect a long-running source of Android news, reviews, and buying advice at a time when the platform's hardware and software releases draw heavy consumer interest. The site remains online, but its output now depends on freelancers rather than a dedicated full-time editorial staff. Future has not detailed what the outlet's staffing or coverage will look like going forward. It is also unclear how the layoffs at Android Police will affect that site's editorial capacity.
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