National Geographic magazine lays off last of its staff writers

CNN: National Geographic, the iconic yellow framed magazine that has chronicled the natural world for more than 100 years, laid off its last remaining staff writers this week, multiple departing staffers said.

It was unclear how many staffers were cut during the latest round of layoffs at the magazine but the move comes as parent company Walt Disney Co. has slashed thousands of staffers across its divisions this year.

National Geographic, which had more than 1.7 million subscribers at the end of 2022, will continue to publish monthly issues, a magazine spokesperson told CNN in a statement on Wednesday.

“Staffing changes will not change our ability to do this work but rather give us more flexibility to tell different stories and meet our audiences where they are across our many platforms,” the spokesperson said. 

“Any insinuation that the recent changes will negatively impact the magazine or the quality of our storytelling, is simply incorrect.”

News of the layoffs was reported on Twitter Tuesday when departing magazine staff writers began to circulate the news.

“Today is my last day at National Geographic,” Michael Greshko, a former science writer at the magazine, tweeted.“The magazine is parting ways with its staff writers, including me.” 

Yet, when CNN contacted the magazine on Tuesday, a spokesperson said there was “nothing to report”.

“It’s possible that what you’re seeing is from staffers who were previously impacted and have now reached their final week at the company,” the spokesperson said.

But on Wednesday, more staff writers for the magazine took to Twitter to share the news of their departure.

“My new National Geographic just arrived, which includes my latest feature — my 16th and my last as a senior writer,” tweeted Craig Welch. 

“NatGeo is laying off all of its staff writers.”

“It’s been an epic run, @NatGeo,” tweeted former writer Nina Strochlic. 

“My colleagues and I were unbelievably lucky to be the last-ever class of staff writers.”