The short answer
People Inc. cut 195 jobs on Thursday, October 29, 2026, according to a memo from CEO Neil Vogel reported by TheWrap and Adweek. TheWrap and Adweek both put the cuts at about 6% of the company's workforce. The cuts are job losses, and most of the people affected worked in the company's print and legacy web businesses, per the Vogel memo as reported by both outlets.
What happened
Vogel sent the memo to all staff on the morning of October 29, per Adweek, which obtained a copy. The New York Times was first to report the news, per TheWrap, and The A.V. Club cited Times media reporter Ben Mullin and linked to his post on X. The memo said the company was making staffing reductions that affect 195 people across its offices, per The A.V. Club. People Inc. was known as Dotdash Meredith until it rebranded in 2025 after its best-known magazine, per TheWrap, and its brands include People, Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, Better Homes and Gardens, Allrecipes, Southern Living, The Spruce, Health and Parents, per TheWrap.
Who is affected
Most of the 195 people work in the print and legacy web businesses, per the Vogel memo as reported by TheWrap, Adweek and The American Bazaar. Neither the memo nor the outlets that reported it gave a count by brand, team or office, and The A.V. Club reported that the impact on individual publications had not been determined. HR and business leaders scheduled one-on-one meetings with everyone affected, per the memo as reported by Adweek. No state WARN notice for this round appears in the sources used here. A WARN notice is a filing an employer makes with a state when it plans a large layoff at one site.
When it takes effect
The memo was sent and the one-on-one meetings were scheduled on October 29, 2026, per Adweek. The sources used here do not give last working days.
What the company said
Vogel wrote that the changes in media require the company to keep changing too, per TheWrap. He said People Inc. had significantly increased investment in new projects that match its biggest opportunities, that it had added 320 new employees so far in 2026, and that it plans to keep making meaningful investments in 2027, per TheWrap and The American Bazaar. Adweek's subhead said the shift is toward new bets such as social video. Vogel wrote: "The rapid changes in media are evident to us all," per TheWrap. He also said the company remains optimistic about its businesses and confident in its plans, per TheWrap and The A.V. Club.
The American Bazaar reported that People Inc.'s second-quarter 2026 revenue fell 2% to $416.7 million, with digital revenue up 6% to $289.9 million and print revenue down 16% to $132.6 million. The A.V. Club reported, citing The Wall Street Journal, that People Inc. had decided earlier in October not to proceed with a planned $18 billion acquisition of MGM Resorts.
Earlier cuts at People Inc.
- October 9, 2025: People Inc. laid off 226 employees, 6% of its staff at the time, across departments, per TheWrap. In that memo, Vogel said the company had hired 320 people over the previous year and had more than 40 open roles, per TheWrap. That round came three months after the rebrand from Dotdash Meredith, per TheWrap.
Questions people ask
How many people did People Inc. lay off in October 2026?
195 people, about 6% of the workforce, per a memo from CEO Neil Vogel reported by TheWrap and Adweek on October 29, 2026.
Which parts of People Inc. were affected?
Most of the cuts fell on the print and legacy web businesses, per the Vogel memo as reported by TheWrap and Adweek. No breakdown by brand or office was published, and The A.V. Club reported the impact on specific titles had not been determined.
What reason did People Inc. give?
Vogel wrote that rapid changes in media require the company to keep changing, and that it is shifting investment toward new projects while continuing to hire, with 320 people added in 2026, per TheWrap. Adweek described the shift as toward new bets such as social video.
Has People Inc. had layoffs before?
Yes. On October 9, 2025, the company cut 226 jobs, also about 6% of staff at the time, per TheWrap. TheWrap described the October 2026 round as coming about a year after that one.