Twitter to shutter Vine video service along with slashing workforce

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU & AP) --  Twitter, which has announced job cuts as it attempts to turn around its struggling business, announced Thursday that it is also shutting down Vine, its video sharing service.

In an online post, the company announced that it will discontinue the mobile app although the technology firm did not provide a date when the service would be retired.

"You will be notified before we make any changes to the app or website," the firm said.

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Twitter, based in San Francisco, said it expects to take $10 million to $20 million in charges as it lays off more than 300 of its 3,860 workers.

"We have a clear plan, and we're making the necessary changes to ensure Twitter is positioned for long-term growth," CEO Jack Dorsey said in a company release.

Since the end of 2014, Twitter has lured 15 million monthly users to expand its audience to 313 million people. In that same period, Facebook brought in 319 million users, expanding its reach 1.7 billion people.

Twitter's service is used heavily by celebrities, journalists and politicians, giving it an outsized role in public discourse. But it has struggled to extend that appeal to a broader audience and has wrestled uncomfortably with bullying on its site and racist posts.

Twitter is placing a big bet on live video, and recently landed a high-profile deal to show National Football League games over 10 Thursdays. It wants to be the go-to place to share opinions in real time.

Vine videos will remain accessible for now and the company said it will keep the Vine website online as users work to migrate their video to other services.