Time magazine on Tuesday announced layoffs affecting several areas of the publication.
The publication said the cuts involve about 30 jobs as it joins other media outlets in downsizing. The layoffs will reach several areas of the magazine, including the editorial and sales departments. Time has 200-500 employees, according to its LinkedIn profile.
The cuts affect about 15% of the magazine’s unionized editorial staff, according to the Times Union.
The union also said the layoffs significantly reduced the staff of the Time for Kids division.
Time culture writer Laura Zornosa confirmed that she and a dozen other unionized workers were laid off this week.
“Logged into Twitter to say this and saw that all of my old friends at the LA Times were going through this too – just got laid off from Time, along with a dozen other union members,” she wrote on X. “My heart breaks for this industry and all of the good people in it.”
Time said the move was necessary for the company to remain competitive and profitable.
“We have made the difficult decision to eliminate roles today across several departments including editorial, tech, sales and TIME Studios. We are immensely grateful for the contributions of these talented team members during their tenure at TIME,” Time CEO Jessica Sibley wrote to staff in a memo.
NewsGuild, the union representing some of the eliminated Time workers, slammed the decision as part of a strategy among media managers to prioritize executive compensation over good journalism.
“We demand management uphold all terms and conditions laid out in our contract and we will fight back on these layoffs in any way we can,” the Times Union wrote on X. “For months, we have asked management for information about company finances. Management refused time and time again. We won’t stop pushing until we get honest answers.”
The cuts at Time come during a turbulent few months for media organizations, which are suffering from declining advertising revenue and rising labor costs. This week, the Los Angeles Times announced layoffs comprising nearly 20% of its newsroom. Condé Nast, publisher of major magazines such as GQ and Vogue, announced layoffs of about 300 workers, or 5% of its staff, several months ago. Other smaller publications such as Vice News, BuzzFeed and Jezebel experienced layoffs and closures in 2023.
Labor unions have reacted with predictable outrage. About 400 Conde Nast workers staged a protest walkout Tuesday.
Correction: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this article incorrectly characterized the percentage of workers being eliminated.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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