Statement from Meredith Union on Closure of 6 Print Magazines at Dotdash Meredith: “Two hundred of us got laid off by Dotdash Meredith today.”

February 9, 2022 — This morning, with less than an hour’s notice, Dotdash Meredith announced the closure of EW’s print magazine and the layoff of 17 valued colleagues, including nine members of our Meredith Union. The company conducted the layoffs in a rushed and disrespectful fashion unbefitting of the long and dedicated service the workers provided to the publication. 

It is not clear that there was any good reason for these layoffs at all. Dotdash Meredith has the resources to keep these people employed or pay them a fair severance—they spent $2.7 billion to buy Meredith in October, and Barry Diller’s IAC, Dotdash Meredith’s parent company, recorded hundreds of millions in profit in 2021.

None of the journalism that makes Neil Vogel proud would be possible without our and our coworkers’ dedicated labor. The future of Dotdash Meredith is one where workers thrive and have a voice at the table—not one where workers are at the mercy of management’s arbitrary decisions. 

Dotdash Meredith’s conduct today is consistent with how the company has behaved since we formed the broader Meredith union nearly one year ago. Management has steadfastly refused to cooperate with us or respond meaningfully to our bargaining demands. This is no way to respect the workers who have made the company’s products as valuable as they are.

Today is a reminder of why we fought so hard to form our union. When our bosses make us feel small, we lift each other up. We stand with our union colleagues and will continue to fight for them. It’s time for the company to do the right thing and bargain fairly with us at the table.