Unless this is an April Fool joke that somebody hit publish on a little too soon, it looks like DPReview will be shutting down completely as of April 10th. An announcement published on the site today states that DPReview will be closing as part of Amazon’s annual operating plan review. According to the announcement, DPReview will remain live but read-only from April 10th for a short period of time.
The company hasn’t said how long the site will remain online in a read-only mode after user interaction is disabled, but they have said that it’ll be visible “for a limited period afterwards”. It’s a very swift ending for a website that’s been around for 25 years and become one of the largest and most respected on the Internet.
[Related reading: Adobe: We are committed to not having company wide layoffs]
The complete announcement from DPReview General Manager, Scott Everett reads:
Dear readers,
After nearly 25 years of operation, DPReview will be closing in the near future. This difficult decision is part of the annual operating plan review that our parent company shared earlier this year.
The site will remain active until April 10, and the editorial team is still working on reviews and looking forward to delivering some of our best-ever content.
Everyone on our staff was a reader and fan of DPReview before working here, and we’re grateful for the communities that formed around the site.
Thank you for your support over the years, and we hope you’ll join us in the coming weeks as we celebrate this journey.
Sincerely,
Scott Everett
General Manager – DPReview.com
A statement from Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO, doesn’t mention DPReview specifically but states that they plan to eliminate 18,000 roles in the company. He says the roles will primarily be in Amazon Stores and People Experience and Technology (PXT) organisations. Presumably, DPReview falls under PXT. Amazon does say that they are working with those they are letting go to help them transition to other work.
S-team and I are deeply aware that these role eliminations are difficult for people, and we don’t take these decisions lightly or underestimate how much they might affect the lives of those who are impacted. We are working to support those who are affected and are providing packages that include a separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and external job placement support.
– Andy Jassy, CEO, Amazon
DPReview was one of the first photography websites I discovered when I started getting serious with photography a little over 20 years ago. With as large and popular as it’s become… It’s the largest photography site on the web by a significant margin from its nearest competitor. It’s difficult to imagine a valuable site like DPReview being expendable.
We wish our friends at DPReview all the best for the future!
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