New York Media lays off 32 people, including 5% of full-time staff

New York Media

• New York Media has laid off 32 people, half of them were full-timers and were 5% of full-time staff.
• The company behind the popular New York magazine was exploring options last year, including a sale.
• The layoffs come at a punishing time for media generally, with BuzzFeed, HuffPost, Vice among those laying off staff this year.

New York Media, parent of the popular New York magazine and other online verticals including The Cut and Vulture, has laid off 32 people as it undergoes restructuring.

The family-owned company has undergone some upheaval recently in a tough time for print and online media generally. It said last summer it was exploring options, including a sale. Its staff formed a union earlier this year, and its longtime top editor Adam Moss just stepped down and was replaced by David Haskell.

Pam Wasserstein, the company's CEO, announced the cuts in a memo to staff that said in part that the company has grown its revenue by diversifying in areas like e-commerce and a digital subscription product.

"I believe this restructuring is necessary to put us on the firmest possible footing as an independent company, though that does not make today any less painful," she wrote. "In some cases, the changes we are making reflect a need for new focus as we built out our digital subscription business; in others, they reflect an overdue integration of print and digital staffs."

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Here's what the company said about the staff reduction in a statement:

"Sixteen full-time staff members (representing about 5% of total full-time headcount), plus an additional 16 freelance or part-time staff, are leaving New York Media as part of a restructuring. The departments most especially affected include audience development/circulation, copy, fact, production, and video. In some cases, the changes we are making reflect a need for new focus as we build out our digital subscription business; in others, they reflect an overdue integration of print and digital staffs. In no case are they a judgment on the quality of the work produced by our colleagues who are leaving, and we thank them sincerely for their contributions here. The restructuring reflects tough decisions made by our CEO and management team over the past several months, in order to focus our efforts where we see the most opportunity for future growth."

Nathan McAlone contributed reporting.