Hearst slashes roles across its magazine portfolio, which includes Cosmopolitan and Seventeen, as it looks to implement ‘strategic decisions’

• Hearst Magazines implemented layoffs Thursday affecting employees across its portfolio.
• The Hearst Magazines union tweeted that some 41 roles were cut.
• A spokesperson confirmed the layoffs and said the publisher was making “strategic decisions” for its future.

Hearst Magazines, which publishes major consumer titles including Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, and House Beautiful, was hit by layoffs on Thursday, a company spokesperson confirmed to Insider and impacted staffers shared on social media throughout Thursday afternoon.

“As we continue to produce the highest-quality content across all platforms, we’re also making strategic decisions that position the business for long-term growth,” a Hearst Magazines spokesperson told Insider in a statement. The spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to follow-up questions about the scope and nature of the changes.

One source, who requested not to be publicly identified since they were not authorized to speak with reporters, said there was no company-wide communication internally about the moves.

Hearst Magazines Media Union tweeted that 41 of its members were laid off due to “company restructuring.”

As of 2020, the union represented 500 people across around two dozen brands.

“We are disappointed and angry that Hearst unilaterally chose to lay off our members instead of coming to the table to explore alternative options,” the union wrote.

The Hearst Union did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider on Thursday. The Wrap earlier reported the union’s tweets.

It could not immediately be determined what proportion of Hearst’s overall headcount was affected by the layoffs.

Hearst joins dozens of other media companies that have implemented sweeping job cuts this year as the industry seeks to reduce costs amid economic headwinds.

This story is breaking and will be refreshed with additional developments. Please check back for updates.

Do you work at Hearst? Contact these reporters to share what’s happening. Lucia Moses can be reached via email at [email protected], and Reed Alexander at [email protected]. 

Dan Whateley contributed to this report.