Malcolm Gladwell is laying off staffers from his podcasting studio a year after the best-selling author sparked anger on social media by tearfully pleading with Americans to return to the office.
Nearly a third of staffers at Gladwell’s firm, Pushkin Industries, were given pink slips while the author of hit books such as “The Tipping Point” and “Blink” will assume the role of editorial director while stepping down from the company as president, according to Bloomberg News.
Pushkin CEO Jacob Weisberg told Bloomberg News that 17 of the company’s 54 employees were laid off.
Among those shown the door were members of the executive team, according to Weisberg, the company co-founder who will shed his CEO title and will assume the role of executive chairman.
Gladwell, who touched a nerve on social media last year when he slammed those who worked from home, will be replaced as president by Gretta Cohn, who came to the company last year after it acquired her podcasting company Transmitter.
It is unclear who will serve as CEO. The Post has sought comment from Pushkin Industries.
The layoffs are another testament to the challenging times facing media as advertising dollars have dried up in a market hamstrung by an increasingly fragmented audience.
Earlier this year, Spotify laid off 6% of its staff while embarking on a cost-cutting spree after failing to turn a profit on its extensive investment in podcasts from the likes of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, the Obamas, and Kim Kardashian.
Last week, Emily Ratajkowski’s podcast was quietly shut down by Sony Group — the same week the company sacked a “significant percentage” of its podcast division.
Pushkin Industries was co-founded by Gladwell and Weisberg in 2018.
It has produced dozens of podcasts and audio books featuring prominent authors such as Michael Lewis and Ibram X. Kendi.
In June of last year, Pushkin struck a deal with A24, a film and television production company, to make on-screen adaptations of its content.
A month later, it acquired Transmitter, a podcasting startup that produced shows for media ventures such as TED Audio Collective and Vox Media as well as original audio content of its own.
“What I think has changed and had such a big effect is the position of some of the biggest players,” Weisberg told Bloomberg News.
“All these companies were investing a lot in podcasting and pulled back dramatically.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
