Malcolm Gladwell is shedding staffers from his podcasting studio a yr after the best-selling writer sparked anger on social media by tearfully pleading with Americans to return to the office.
Nearly a 3rd of staffers at Gladwell’s firm, Pushkin Industries, got pink slips while the writer of hit books corresponding to “The Tipping Point” and “Blink” will assume the role of editorial director while stepping down from the corporate as president, based on Bloomberg News.
Pushkin CEO Jacob Weisberg told Bloomberg News that 17 of the corporate’s 54 employees were laid off.
Amongst those shown the door were members of the chief team, based on Weisberg, the corporate co-founder who will shed his CEO title and can assume the role of executive chairman.
Gladwell, who touched a nerve on social media last yr when he slammed those that worked from home, will likely be replaced as president by Gretta Cohn, who got here to the corporate last yr after it acquired her podcasting company Transmitter.
Malcolm Gladwell’s podcasting company Pushkin Industries laid off nearly a 3rd of staffers, based on Bloomberg News.Bloomberg
It’s unclear who will function CEO. The Post has sought comment from Pushkin Industries.
The layoffs are one other testament to the difficult times facing media as promoting dollars have dried up in a market hamstrung by an increasingly fragmented audience.
Earlier this yr, Spotify laid off 6% of its staff while embarking on a cost-cutting spree after failing to show a profit on its extensive investment in podcasts from the likes of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, the Obamas, and Kim Kardashian.
Gladwell co-founded Pushkin Industries in 2018 alongside Jacob Weisberg.Pushkin Industries
Last week, Emily Ratajkowski’s podcast was quietly shut down by Sony Group — the identical week the corporate 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 distinguished authors corresponding to Michael Lewis and Ibram X. Kendi.
Gladwell is the Canadian writer of bestselling books including “The Tipping Point,” “Outliers,” and “Blink.”
In June of last yr, Pushkin struck a take care of A24, a movie and tv 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 corresponding to TED Audio Collective and Vox Media in addition to original audio content of its own.
“What I believe has modified and had such an enormous effect is the position of a number of the biggest players,” Weisberg told Bloomberg News.
“All these corporations were investing quite a bit in podcasting and pulled back dramatically.”
