Copyright Deadline
Condé Nast fired four editorial staffers after they sought to question the company’s head of human resources over the announcement of layoffs, including the consolidation of Teen Vogue into Vogue.com. The publisher said that the four staffers were fired “due to conduct that violated company policies, following an internal review.” In a statement, Condé Nast said that they have filed a change with the National Labor Relations Broad against the News Guild of New York “for their repeated and egregious disregard of our collective bargaining agreement.” In its statement, Condé Nast said that “extreme misconduct is unacceptable in any professional setting. This includes aggressive, disruptive and threatening behavior of any kind.” The publisher added, “We remain committed to working constructively with the union and all of our employees.” According to the guild, the staffers terminated were Alma Avalle, digital producer at Bon Appetit; Jake Lahut, Wired senior reporter covering the Trump White House, Jasper Lo, senior fact checker at The New Yorker; and Ben Dewey, videographer at Condé Nast Entertainment. “These terminations are a flagrant breach of the Just Cause terms of our contract and an unprecedented violation of their federally protected rights as union members to participate in collective action,” the guild said in a statement. According to Semafor, which first reported on the firings, the staffers were among a group who sought to question the head of human resources, Stan Duncan, on Wednesday. The staffers were outside his office, but he told them to return to work, Semafor reported. Responding to a post, Lahut wrote on X, “To take this in good faith: Sometimes, it’s a good thing to stand up for your colleagues. We’ve gotta look out for each other, as competitive as this business is. And I was on the Condé Nast unit council, so it very much was our business. He noted that he was on the Condé Nast unit council, so it “very much was our business” in seeking a meeting with the HR executive about the job cuts. He launched a new Substack. Avalle wrote on X, “I love my job, I love my coworkers, and I love my union. I’m devastated the company made this move. There are so few trans women in media at all — particularly ones who aren’t confined to ‘Queer Media’ — and I was incredibly proud of what my position at Bon Appétit meant at large.
