Bussiness
Dotdash Meredith plans more layoffs but is mum on how many in Des Moines office
Dotdash Meredith announced Thursday it will eliminate 53 jobs, primarily in its print business, but did not respond to a question about how many of those jobs are in Des Moines, the center of its magazine publishing operation.
The New York-based company owns the former Meredith Corp., which was based in Des Moines and also had offices in Birmingham, Alabama. Company officials would not confirm how many employees Dotdash Meredith has in Des Moines but the Greater Des Moines Partnership lists the number as 697.
In an email to employees obtained by the Des Moines Register, Dotdash Meredith CEO Neil Vogel said only that the positions being eliminated were “across multiple offices.”
Dotdash, an online publisher, purchased Meredith in late 2021 for $2.7 billion. In 2022, the company announced it was ending the print editions of EatingWell, Entertainment Weekly, Health, InStyle, Parents and People en Español. as well as paring 200 jobs. The following year, it cut 274 more positions, including 45 in Des Moines, according to a notice it filed on the state’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification website,
The company’s print portfolio still includes such publications as Better Homes & Gardens, Real Simple, Southern Living and Allrecipes.
No more Dotdash Meredith magazine titles being cut, CEO says
In his email Thursday, Vogel said Dotdash Meredith will continue to have a commitment to print magazines despite the challenge of competing with online advertising. The company bills itself as “America’s Largest Digital land Print Publisher.”
“While we are incredibly proud of our print products and our subscriber bases are stable (or in some cases even growing), the print advertising business remains challenged. Today’s actions are directly in response to this,” Vogel wrote. “These decisions better align our print operations with the market and help us position the print business to invest in areas of growth.”
He added, “Magazines are an irreplaceable part of the media mix for our biggest brands. We are not closing any print magazines, nor do we anticipate doing so, and we will continue to invest in our print assets. We are as optimistic as ever in the future of Dotdash Meredith.”
Vogel said the decision to eliminate the positions was difficult but that Dotdash Meredith is “committed to supporting a smooth transition for those impacted.”
Acquisition was marriage of two worlds
At the time Dotdash Meredith was formed, leaders told investors the acquisition married the strengths of two worlds: the brand recognition of the well-established publications of Meredith, which was founded in Des Moines in 1902, and the tech know-how of the Dotdash team.
The Dotdash sites are known for loading especially fast, avoiding auto-play videos and pop-up advertisements. They deliberately limit ads, which Dotdash leaders say makes for a cleaner user experience that draws more viewers.
Ads are matched to the content on a particular page so companies reach the customers they want. The company also directs readers to online retailers, receiving revenue for each sale that comes from a Dotdash click.
Kevin Baskins covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at kbaskins@registermedia.com.
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