Hearst Magazines Hit By Layoffs

Layoffs have hit Hearst Magazines, as the publisher said it is reallocating resources amid changes in the industry. 

Hearst Magazines is home to more than 25 brands in the U.S. including Elle, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, Town & Country and more. The exact size and departments impacted were not immediately disclosed. 

“After a thorough review of our business, we’ve decided to reallocate resources to better support our goals and continue our focus on digital innovation while strengthening our best in class print products. We will scale back in areas that do not support our core strategy and will eliminate certain positions as we reimagine our team structures to drive long-term growth,” Debi Chirichella, president of Hearst Magazines, said in a memo to employees. 

“These changes will enable us to take care of our business for the long term. We’ll prioritize areas where we can deliver the highest impact and drive growth and continue to focus on producing the highest-quality storytelling, advertising solutions, and digital experiences,” the memo continued. 

Writers Guild of America East Executive Director Sam Wheeler called the layoffs “needless, irresponsible, and cruel” in a statement Thursday.

“Today, the consistently anti-union Hearst Magazines became the latest media company to enact needless, irresponsible, and cruel layoffs of editorial employees. Unsurprisingly, the small army of senior executives with make-work jobs and self-important titles, who add little to nothing to build Hearst’s brands, apparently made it through today relatively unscathed.

“Readers go to Hearst because of the talent and craft of its editorial employees. These workers make Hearst what it is. Until Hearst and the rest of the media industry recognize that the workers are the most valuable part of their companies and brands, they will continue their race to the bottom with no one to blame but themselves. These workers deserved better,” Wheeler said.

Hearst was one of many publishers to partner with ChatGPT-owner OpenAI in recent months. In the memo, Chirichella also speaks to other new changes at Hearst Magazines.

“To date, we have made significant progress toward our strategy. We’ve launched new digital advertising products, like AURA; adopted a new digital subscription management platform to help unlock growth through expanded offers, gifting and retention tools; and extended our international footprint and our Hearst Global Solutions team in London so we can be an even stronger and more strategic media partner for our clients,” Chirichella said in the memo.