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The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 2026

Us Weekly laid off half its staff in 2026 — social media and Spanish teams gone

Us Weekly cut close to half its 50-person workforce in April 2026, including entire social media and Spanish-language teams, and closed its NYC office.

Us Weekly · A360 Media · McClatchy Media Company · 2026-04-24

What happened

Us Weekly laid off close to half of its 50-person staff in April 2026, eliminating its entire social media team and its entire Spanish-language editorial team. The magazine also shuttered its New York headquarters, moving all remaining staff to fully remote work. The cuts were part of a broader restructuring at A360 Media (formerly American Media Inc.), which had merged with McClatchy in December 2024 to form the McClatchy Media Company.

The layoffs reflected the continuing contraction of celebrity and entertainment print media, which had already seen the closure of Us Weekly's sister titles In Touch Weekly and Life & Style in 2025. Us Weekly itself survived but at roughly half its former size, with no social media presence managed in-house and no dedicated Spanish-language content operation.

The magazine continued publishing in print and digital formats after the cuts, but the elimination of the social media team — responsible for the brand's presence on platforms where celebrity news increasingly breaks — raised questions about its long-term digital strategy.

Why it happened

  • Print advertising revenue continued its secular decline, making Us Weekly's 50-person headcount unsustainable under A360 Media's post-merger cost structure.
  • The merger of A360 Media and McClatchy in December 2024 triggered a review of all properties, with smaller brands facing deeper cuts.
  • Celebrity news consumption had shifted to social platforms and digital-native outlets, reducing the value of an in-house social media team producing branded content.
What it cost~25 jobs cut; social, Spanish teams axed; NYC closedcostly

The lesson

A magazine that cuts the team responsible for where its audience actually is — social platforms — and the team serving its Spanish-speaking readers has not solved its problem; it has deferred it.

Aftermath

Us Weekly continued publishing but operated fully remote with roughly 25 staff. Its social media presence was likely outsourced or reduced. Parent company McClatchy Media Company continued to face the same industry pressures that led to In Touch and Life & Style closures in 2025.

Sources

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    Somewhere, someone solved the problem this company failed at. 2nd Opinion →