Pitchfork, Vogue, Vanity Fair Publisher Conde Nast Lays Off 100 Staff Members

Condé Nast, which owns news publications Pitchfork, Vogue, Vanity Fair, WIRED, GQ, The New Yorker among many others, revealed they will be laying off around 100 staffers in the United States. 100 more employees will be furloughed, with more placed on reduced hours and facing salary cuts. 

“Since sending an update last month with our cost reduction plan for the COVID-19 crisis, our leaders and I have been working hard to turn over every stone before having to make job reductions that would impact our teams,” Lynch wrote in a memo to staff. “Unfortunately, we are at a place today wehre we need to take additional steps.”

While the company did not disclose which departments will be experiencing layoffs, it is understood to be where work has been most heavily impacted by the coronavirus, such as events. Additionally, many of Condé Nast’s publications have needed to adjust their printing schedules due to a lack of content and advertising.

Chief Executive Officer Roger Lynch has taken a 50 percent salary cut, as did members of Condé Nast’s external board members. Its leadership team, including Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour, have taken 20 percent salary reductions. Lynch informed employees in early April that starting in May, those with a salary over $100,000 would have temporary pay reductions between 10 and 20 percent.

Buzzfeed, Vox Media and Group Nine Media have also been laying off workers and making pay cuts throughout the pandemic. Buzzfeed initially planned on workers having pay reductions ranging from 5 to 25 percent for only a few months, but that has now been extended until the end of 2020. Buzzfeed CEO Jonah Peretti also announced in March that he will not be taking any salary until the end of the crisis. The Los Angeles Times union negotiated for workers to accept a 20 percent reduction in pay.

Update: Vice Media was also forced to layoff over 150 employees this week due to the impact in sales from the coronavirus. The company said in an announcement to staffers that they plan on cutting 55 U.S. employees and 100 employees from their offices abroad.