People Inc., the publishing giant behind People magazine, is laying off 195 employees — roughly 6% of its workforce — with most of the cuts hitting its print and legacy web businesses, according to an internal memo obtained by The Post.
Chief Executive Neil Vogel told staff that the company has hired 320 employees so far this year and plans to continue making investments in 2027 despite the latest cuts.
“The rapid changes in media are evident to us all, and require us to be constantly changing as well,” Vogel wrote in the memo.
“We have significantly increased investments in a host of new projects as we continue to align the company with our biggest opportunities.”
Human resources and managers have scheduled one-on-one meetings with employees affected by the cuts.
The cuts come amid a broader overhaul at the publisher, which changed its name from Dotdash Meredith to People Inc. in July of last year.
Its roster of magazines also includes Better Homes & Gardens, Food & Wine, Real Simple, Southern Living, Travel + Leisure and EatingWell.
Its parent company, IAC, which is chaired by media mogul Barry Diller, renamed itself People Incorporated in June 2026 as it sharpened its focus on the publishing business.
The parent remains a separate legal entity from the publisher, whose legal name is People Inc. Group.
In October 2025, People Inc. axed 226 employees, or roughly 6% of its workforce, as Vogel sought to redirect investments toward social media publishing, commerce, events and businesses less dependent on traditional website traffic.
That followed the elimination of 143 jobs in January 2025 and 53 positions in November 2024, when the company cited continued weakness in print advertising.
The publisher had previously slashed 274 jobs in January 2023.
The restructuring comes as People Inc. grapples with declining print revenue and falling web traffic, which the company has attributed primarily to Google’s AI-powered search summaries.
In the second quarter of 2026, print revenue tumbled 16% from a year earlier to $132.6 million, while digital revenue climbed 6% to $289.9 million, according to company filings.
Traffic to the company’s core digital properties plunged 22% from a year earlier, a decline the publisher attributed primarily to Google’s AI Overviews, which can answer search queries without directing users to outside websites.
Licensing and other digital revenue rose 23% in the second quarter, while performance marketing revenue increased 13%, according to company filings.
Despite the layoffs, Vogel pointed to continued hiring at the company.
“We’ve added 320 new employees so far in 2026, expanding our talent and capabilities across the company, and we plan to continue making meaningful investments in 2027,” he wrote.
Vogel said the company would hold an all-hands meeting after announcing third-quarter earnings to discuss its direction and priorities for next year.
The Post has sought comment from People Inc.
Credit: Source link
