Could trouble be brewing at the famed magazine Vanity Fair? The layoffs of 15 staffers on Thursday provide some indication that all may not exactly be well at the media giant.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the first task for recently appointed editor of Vanity Fair, Radhika Jones, was overseeing layoffs on the print-centered staff.
THR reports that “around 15 Vanity Fair employees parted ways with the company, including: managing editor Chris Garrett, features editor Jane Sarkin, deputy editors Aimee Bell and Dana Brown, associate managing editor Ellen Kiell, senior photography producer Kathryn MacLeod, editor-at-large Cullen Murphy and longtime public relations head Beth Kseniak.”
“The magazine’s digital department — which had been bulked up ahead of the mid-2016 launch of revamped sections The Hive, HWD and Vanities — is said to have been spared in the cutting.”
Vanity Fair is headed by Conde Nast, which runs such famed magazines like Vogue, GQ, and Glamour. Glamour also faced its own round of three layoffs on Thursday.
In a statement Thursday, a Conde Nast spokesman said the layoffs were just a mere “reshaping.”
“Vanity Fair and Glamour are taking the first steps in reshaping their teams to reflect the new editorial directions of the brands — with new additions and initiatives to be announced shortly,” the spokesman said. “The priority for each is to create quality and provocative content across all platforms equally, embracing the next generation of readers and viewers.”
The spokesman said no additional cuts were coming for any other Conde Nast’s magazines.
The layoffs for Vanity Fair arrive at a rather strange time, considering that the magazine released its annual Hollywood issue and prepares for its famous Oscar night party at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. According to THR, the layoffs at Conde Nast have been ongoing since last year, including 80 people cut in November when Teen Vogue‘s print edition was axed and another 100 people last spring.
Most recently, Vanity Fair took a major PR hit after releasing a video criticizing Hillary Clinton. After significant backlash from leftist snowflakes, the magazine apologized and suffered brutal trolling from President Trump.