Hearst magazines cut 200 employees ahead of Christmas

Hearst Magazines, which publishes popular titles like Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping and Esquire, is doing what a lot of media has found inescapable at the end of 2024: firing employees. Named after one of the first media moguls who at one time controlled newspapers and radio stations from New York to San Francisco – William Randolph Hearst – the magazine publisher is firing almost 200 employees, most of them at its Manhattan headquarters, The New York Post reported.

The Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) revealed the exact number to be 197 Hearst employees and that, “most affected workers are based at Hearst Tower” on 8th Avenue and 57th Street on Manhattan’s West Side. The Hearst Tower was actually built on the old Hearst Magazine Building which dated back to the halcyon days of Hearst media.

Hearst Magazine president Debi Chirichella announced the firings last week. “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,” Chirichella told staff in a memo that was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

“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.” She did not say where exactly the axe would fall and how many employees would lose their jobs. “These changes will enable us to take care of our business for the long term,” she wrote.

“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 decision has been attacked by WGAE executive director Sam Wheeler who suggested anti-union animosity lay beneath the decision. “Today, the consistently anti-union Hearst Magazines became the latest media company to enact needless, irresponsible and cruel layoffs of editorial employees,” he said in a statement, according to The Post.

“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,” he said.

The Associated Press recently announced that it would be cutting its workforce by 8 percent as fewer media outlets subscribe to its news content of ready-made stories and photos. Competition from social media-based new and independent media is forcing mainstream media outlets to shed editorial workers as their ratings continue to plummet in recent years. CNN is also reportedly laying off hundreds of staff, including on-air talent, before the end of the year.