Time Magazine Lays Off 22 Staffers Amid Advertising Pullback, Restructuring

Time magazine is cutting 22 roles across departments, including editorial, technology, sales & marketing and Time Studios.

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In a memo to staff announcing the layoffs Tuesday, Time CEO Jessica Sibley cited business challenges, including lower advertising budgets, competition and shifts in consumer behavior, and a shift to focus on higher growth coverage areas, which include Climate, AI and Health.

“Like our peers, we continue to face significant challenges — from heightened competition for decreased advertising budgets to drastic shifts in consumer behavior, changes to search and social algorithms, and overall economic uncertainty. We are making changes now across our business to protect against this period of transformation and unpredictability in the media industry,” Sibley wrote in the memo.

In late July, Dave O’Connor, president of Time Studios, said he had reorganized the division into one team amid a tough market for scripted and unscripted content.

The magazine dropped its paywall last year in order to attract more advertising revenue. In January, Time ‘s edit union said that 15 percent of its members were subject to layoffs in a round of cuts.

Full Memo:

Team,

Today we are sharing that we have made the difficult decision to eliminate 22 roles across several departments including editorial, technology, sales & marketing and TIME Studios. People & Culture sent calendar invitations this morning to all employees who are impacted by this decision and will hold meetings with those individuals and their managers today. It is incredibly hard to say goodbye to our talented colleagues; we are deeply grateful for their contributions to TIME’s culture, mission and legacy, and we will closely support them through this period of transition.

This decision was not made lightly, but it is necessary to build a sustainable company in order to further TIME’s mission. We made this decision now for several reasons:

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First, like our peers, we continue to face significant challenges —from heightened competition for decreased advertising budgets to drastic shifts in consumer behavior, changes to search and social algorithms, and overall economic uncertainty. We are making changes now across our business to protect against this period of transformation and unpredictability in the media industry.

Next, we must recalibrate and adjust our organizational structure to shift resources to our biggest opportunities for growth. At the highest level, we need to fully own leadership. This is the unifying theme of the most important, the most impactful, and the most commercially successful work we do at TIME. Sam will continue to make leadership the north star for our editorial team. We will guide our work to elevate and cover leaders at every level; holding up and holding accountable the leaders who are transforming our world; inspiring aspiring leaders. We will also provide journalism that serves these present and future leaders. We will focus especially on the areas of leadership where we are having success today: Climate, AI and Health.

That focus will be the foundation of ongoing key business changes. We are driving critical revenue growth with direct-sold advertising sponsorships and strategic partnerships, which will continue to be a focus as part of our transition to a B2B revenue strategy. To build on this momentum, we will also prioritize scaling our events business—which has grown significantly in the number of events we produce and in attracting advertising partners—leveraging TIME Studios to expand our branded content offerings and products, and pursuing new revenue streams, including growing advertising on social media and expanding our global footprint through local-language licensing. We will continue to pursue new strategic partnerships, building on our success with partners such as Taboola, Statista, and our recent agreements with AI companies, which further protect the future of TIME and our trusted journalism.

Finally, to improve our financial position, we must continue to operate as efficiently as possible. We have worked diligently to reduce our operating costs by cutting discretionary spending, reallocating resources from declining areas of our business, limiting the use of contractors, transitioning to remote work outside the U.S., and exploring options for a smaller New York headquarters.

I understand that this news is distressing. We ask that all employees plan to work remotely today as you process this news. Managers and members of the People & Culture team will be available to provide additional information over the coming days. We will also gather as a company during the first week of September for a conversation about TIME’s strategic path forward and to answer your questions.

The work we are doing is not easy. Together, our efforts to build a sustainable and profitable business will enable us to continue delivering on and expanding our mission for the next century. I am grateful for your commitment to TIME’s transformation and future.

Thank you,

Jess

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