More than 250 members of staff at Time Inc were laid off yesterday in what is being described by some as the bloodiest day in the US magazine publisher’s history.
As many again are expected to get their notice – their pink slips as they call them in the US – within the next few days..
It is part of a worldwide cutback by the company that publishes Time, Sports Illustrated, People, Fortune, Money and a dozen other magazines.
But soon there will be at least one less. In conjunction with the lay-offs, it was announced that Cottage Living, a lifestyle magazine started just four years ago with high expectations, will be folding.
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Its November-December issue will be its last, and most of its staff of 47 are being let go.
It has been predicted that the next to face cutbacks – possibly even closure – will be Real Simple – another lifestyle magazine that has seen an almost 20 per cent decline in advertising pages this year.
The scenario is the same at many other American magazine publishing houses. Although sales generally are down, it is the drop-off in ads that is creating the most concern.
In recent months, more than 3,200 jobs have been eliminated at a variety of magazines.
Hearst and Conde Nast have both laid off staff. National Geographic has fired 13 of its staff, and Meredith, publisher of Ladies’ Home Journal, one of America’s oldest magazines, has also made redundancies.
Magazines that have folded include Cosmo Girl and Men’s Vogue.
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