National Geographic lays off staff following 21st Century Fox merger

National Geographic informed employees Tuesday it would lay off about 9% of its staff, months after announcing it would partner with Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox as part of an expanded joint venture.

That would amount to about 180 people out of the total 2,000 employees under the new partnership with Fox.

In September, 21st Century Fox announced a for-profit venture in which it paid $725m for control of the National Geographic Society, to create National Geographic Partners, which includes National Geographic Channels.

Magazine staffers received an email from CEO Gary Knell on Tuesday morning with instructions to make themselves available throughout the day and monitor their inboxes for information about their employment status.

“The National Geographic Society and the National Geographic Channels are in the process of reorganizing in order to move forward strategically following the closing [of] the National Geographic Partners deal, which is expected to occur in mid-November,” a spokesperson for National Geographic Society said in an emailed statement.

According to the statement, layoffs will represent about 9% of the overall workforce reduction. A “voluntary separation” offer has been made to other eligible employees.

“All staff have been advised as to their status as of closing,” the spokesperson said.

At 63, veteran National Geographic photographer Michael “Nick” Nichols was neither surprised nor devastated when Knell handed him his termination notice today.

A staff photographer since 1996 and editor-at-large since 2008, Nichols said he received a good severance package and a contract to complete the two-year project he is currently working on.

“I was getting ready to retire in January,” he said. “So for me this is kind of a gift. But it’s a sad day for my friends who were not as ready.

“I feel for everybody,” he said.

As editor-at-large, Nichols rarely sets foot in the offices of National Geographic, so he said he doesn’t understand why the staff cuts, which comprised a mix of buyouts and layoffs, were deemed necessary.

Nichols said the important issue is whether National Geographic will continue to fund the kind of hard, long-term reporting about issues facing the planet that he and other veterans are accustomed to.

“You can’t do that with a for-profit company,” he said. “You have to have philanthropy subsidize long-term assignments.

“It used to be that people bought magazines. People don’t buy magazines anymore.”