Ebony lays off a third of its staff, moves operations to L.A

May 7, 2017

Ebony has called Chicago home since it was founded in 1945, but now, it is moving to Los Angeles and consolidating with its sister publication, Jet.

The magazine has also laid off 10 of its 35 employees. Among those laid off was editor-in-chief Kyra Kyles, with Jet’s editor, Tracey Ferguson, taking over operations for both publications.

“There was a significant consolidation of the editorial staff as well as some of the digital staff,” Michael Gibson, co-founder and chairman of Ebony owner CVG Group, said Friday.

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Ebony has struggled to get its feet underneath it after being sold to the CVG Group by Johnson Publishing, the family-owned group that founded the magazine, for an undisclosed amount in 2016. Reports have circulated of freelance writers not being paid and subscription deliveries not being delivered since the November issue, a problem that Gibson blamed on printers.

“The old printer was committed to finishing up the December-January subscription (issue) and sending those out. At some point, the old printer backed off of that commitment,” Gibson said.

There will still be a downsized Ebony office in Chicago, according to Gibson, with Linda Johnson Rice, who was recently named Ebony Media CEO remaining in Chicago to oversee matters.