Fortune cuts 35 staffers; CEO Murray takes 50 percent pay cut

Fortune magazine said Tuesday that it made the “painful but necessary” decision to cut 35 staffers, and its CEO Alan Murray will take a 50 percent pay cut.

The moves are related to the current coronavirus pandemic’s effect.

The cuts amount to about 10 percent of its payroll and are distributed across departments, including editorial. Affected employees will receive severance packages, as well as an additional month of medical benefits, including mental health services.

The cuts are in addition to the business magazine cutting its freelance staff as well this month. Editorial had hired 12 new staffers as recently as September.

In addition to Murray’s pay cut, the rest of the executive team will be taking a cut of approximately 30 percent.

Fortune launched a paywall last month, and it has also redesigned its website and print publication. Thai businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon bought Fortune magazine from Meredith Corp. for $150 million in 2018.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.