Dotdash Meredith, who publishes People, better houses and gardens Y Fashion, lay off 7 percent of its employees.
In a memo sent to staff on Thursday, chief executive Neil Vogel said the cuts would come as the publisher was hit by “broader challenges in the advertising industry and the broader economy.” The layoffs will affect 274 people in almost all departments.
The company was formed after Barry Diller’s IAC subsidiary Dotdash acquired magazine publisher Meredith in 2021 in a $2.7 billion deal. In 2022, the company ceased print publication of six titles, including Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, Health, Eating good Y Parents, which led to the elimination of 200 jobs, largely revolving around printing operations.
Vogel cited the current layoffs as part of a plan to continue the company’s momentum amid “economic uncertainty.” IAC is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter earnings on February 14.
“Like many companies in our space, we have grown aggressively in recent years while integrating our two businesses. With the challenging market environment and economic uncertainty ahead, we must prioritize our biggest opportunities and ensure we have the right cost structure in place to take advantage of them,” Vogel wrote.
This is the latest layoff to affect the media industry, following cuts at Vox Media, which publishes vox, the edge Y NY magazine, as well as layoffs at Vice, CNN and others.
The tech world has seen large-scale layoffs, as Spotify announced plans on January 23 to cut its workforce by 6 percent, joining Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta, all of which have cut staff.
The full memo from Dotdash Meredith CEO Neil Vogel is below:
Team –
Today we are making staff cuts that affect 274 people, 7% of our total employees. Business and HR leaders have scheduled 1:1 meetings this morning with those who are affected. As we have said, we are not immune to the broader challenges of the advertising industry and the economy as a whole, and today’s actions are a direct response to these realities.
These decisions are hard, and it’s hard to see friends and colleagues go. We are grateful to those leaving the company whose effort and talent have contributed significantly to our business. Colleagues who leave will receive severance pay, options for continued health insurance, and transition support, including relocation services..
Like many companies in our space, we have grown aggressively in recent years while integrating our two businesses. With the challenging market environment and economic uncertainty ahead, we must prioritize our biggest opportunities and ensure we have the right cost structure in place to take advantage of them. Today’s actions provide the most effective and focused use of our resources and put us in a position of strength as we look to the future.
We remain as confident as ever in our future at Dotdash Meredith. We’ll have an All-Hands on Monday to talk about the way forward from here, we hope to talk to everyone then.
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