Meredith cuts 180 jobs, ‘minimal’ impact on Des Moines office

Meredith Corporation laid off 180 workers this week, but its Des Moines offices avoided most of the cuts.

© Kelsey Kremer/The Register
Outside of the Meredith Corporation’s downtown Des Moines campus on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.

The layoffs included 130 employees from its local media group, which owns 17 TV stations. The rest of the cuts came from its national media group, which publishes magazines such as People and Better Homes & Gardens.

The Des Moines-based media company has suffered in the midst of the broader economic recession because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Driven by a 17% drop in ad revenue compared with 2019, Meredith reported a $234 million loss in fiscal year 2020, which ended June 30. This spring, the company decreased employee salaries, a move that Meredith reversed at the beginning of this month.

© Kelsey Kremer/The Register
Outside of the Meredith Corporation’s downtown Des Moines campus on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.

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Meredith is trying to improve its “financial flexibility,” said Mike Lovell, a spokesman for the company. Lovell said the Des Moines office is “efficient.”

About 1,000 of the company’s 5,000 employees work in Des Moines. Lovell said “fewer than 10” local employees will lose their jobs because of this week’s cuts.

“We expect the initiatives taken yesterday will have minimal impact on Meredith’s workforce here,” Lovell said in a statement. “In fact, we expect to relocate some positions to Des Moines from other Meredith locations.”

Company executives will ask shareholders at its Nov. 11 annual meeting to approve a charter change that could pave the way to split its magazine and TV broadcasting businesses. The company said no split is imminent.

Tyler Jett covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at [email protected], 515-284-8215, or on Twitter at @LetsJett.

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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Meredith cuts 180 jobs, ‘minimal’ impact on Des Moines office