If It's Wednesday, It's Layoffs Day at Yahoo: Today, Digital Magazines Get Hit

According to sources close to the situation, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has designated Wednesday as the day of the week to make massive employee cuts that the company announced at its earnings call weeks ago. But, instead of just felling the ax at once of 15 percent of staff, she has dragged the pain out in several weekly layoffs.

And today, the hits seem to be largely happening at Yahoo’s media unit and also in Los Angeles. Re/code previously reported that the division was going to see a lot of cost cuts, especially in Mayer’s once vaunted digital “magazine” efforts. It was not so long ago that the company touted its splashy plan to hire big names to helm these offerings, in food, beauty and tech. All those are now getting consolidated and reorganized, said multiple sources, with some verticals going poof.

Politico Media just reported that Yahoo Tech’s top editor Dan Tynan was leaving and that the tech vertical was being incorporated into its larger news unit. Tynan is indeed out, but Yahoo Tech, as a designation, will remain and its marquee tech reviewer, David Pogue, is staying. He was hired from the New York Times.

“I am sure that bigger and better things await all of us. As for Yahoo, I am sure it will continue to be Yahoo, for better or worse,” wrote the still funny and classy Tynan in a farewell memo. “And some day we’ll all have a good laugh about it. Just not this week.”

Food is also getting smacked, and the beauty section is getting big cuts, including the departure of editor-in-chief Bobbi Brown (hat tip to Racked!). According to Eater, its well-regarded editor Kerry Diamond is out too and the site “is being phased out.”

And travel too, as Skift has correctly reported. Top editor Laura Begley Bloom, who just replaced former top editor Paula Froelich, is gone.

And R.I.P to Yahoo Auto, Yahoo Makers, Yahoo Real Estate, Yahoo Health and Yahoo Parenting too. All in all, a bad day for digital media, largely due to Mayer’s misguided strategy. Now it is up to Martha Nelson, who runs the larger media org. The former Time Inc. exec knows a thing or two about contraction and today that experience will be tested.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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