HuffPost Australia's future in doubt after Fairfax and AOL abandon JV

At the instigation of AOL, Fairfax Media is exiting the JV that operates The Huffington Post Australia.

As a minority partner in the JV, Fairfax is being led by its international partner, which is all but abandoning international partnerships including Australia and India.

While in the short term HuffPost Australia is expected to continue, it could be with as little as two or three staff from December 1 with funding from the US parent.

Fairfax Media is expected to conduct meetings with staff today about any possible vacancies at the company's Australian publishing business.

A spokesperson for HuffPost Australia said: “Employees were briefed on Wednesday on the decision of HuffPost and Fairfax to bring the Australian joint venture to an end. HuffPost will operate a standalone Australian edition from December 1 with a smaller local team. If redeployment is not possible, regrettably redundancies will occur.”

The business had been operated in Australia under editor-in-chief Tory Maguire and CEO JJ Eastwood.