New York magazine laying off 32 people

New York magazine’s parent company is laying off 32 full-time and freelance staffers as part of the publication’s restructuring effort, according to a Monday memo from the company’s CEO. 

The memo, obtained by CNN Business, was sent by New York Media CEO Pam Wasserstein. It said the layoffs will primarily impact circulation, production, video and audience development. 

Sixteen full-time staffers are among those being laid off, along with 16 freelance or part-time employees.

{mosads}The company said the move was part of a necessary “restructuring.”

“As part of our long-term planning process, we took a hard look at our existing structure and roles in an effort to most effectively organize our resources around our business strategy,” Wasserstein wrote. “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.” 

In a statement, New York Media underscored a need to prioritize enhancing its digital subscription business. 

“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,” the company said in its statement.

“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,” it adds. “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.”

The media industry has seen substantial layoffs in recent years, including at Buzzfeed, Gannett and HuffPost. According to a Pew Research analysis released in 2018, more than half of the largest newspapers in the U.S. have laid off employees since January 2017. Pew also found that nine of the 16 newspapers with circulations of 250,000 or more, or 56 percent, had experienced layoffs in the 2017-2018 period.