Pitchfork Union and The NewsGuild of New York have shared a joint statement saying they "categorically condemn" Condé Nast’s recently announced decision to restructure Pitchfork and move it under fellow Condé Nast title GQ.
In their statement, the organisations confirmed that the restructure would lead to the redundancy of eight Guild-represented members, while it’s also known a number of other staffers have additionally been let go. "Condé Nast provided no further information about the future of the premiere music publication, demonstrating once again a lack of regard for the workers who have contributed to the company’s success," the statement added.
Condé Nast had revealed in November that it planned to lay off five percent of its total workforce, with the NewsGuild of New York having since been in contact with the company in order to represent its members. "In a December meeting with Guild bargaining members," the NewsGuild alleged in its statement, "Condé Nast representatives said there would be no layoffs at Pitchfork."
The unions’ statement concluded: "We saw on Wednesday just how untrustworthy Condé Nast management is."
News of Condé Nast’s decision to fold Pitchfork into GQ surfaced late on Wednesday (January 17) via a leaked internal email that was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by media reporter Max Tani. The email, written by Anna Wintour, who is chief content officer at Condé Nast, also mentioned that some Pitchfork employees, including editor-in-chief Puja Patel, have left the company amid the restructure.
The decision to fold the publication into GQ was made, the email said, "after a careful evaluation of Pitchfork’s performance". It added that the company believed this was "the best path forward for the brand so that our coverage of music can continue to thrive within the company".
It’s not yet known exactly what the changes will mean for Pitchfork’s publishing of content going forward, but reviews editor Jeremy D. Larson, who remains at the company, posted on X earlier today (January 19): "I sent a note to our writers today about how we are going to keep publishing reviews on Pitchfork like we’ve been doing. Don’t expect everyone to believe that right away, but so far it’s true and I will try to hold up my end of the bargain. Cruel times, I’m sorry, thanks for reading."
