#New owner of National Enquirer, US Weekly to furlough staff

The company that now owns gossip tabloids the National Enquirer and US Weekly has announced a new round of furloughs starting immediately.

On Thursday Accelerate 360 CEO David Parry told staffers of the media operation about the furloughs in a memo that blamed the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has ravaged ad sales and hurt consumer demand.

“As a result of this review, we have made the difficult decision to furlough certain staff members in various departments so we can lessen the impact of the pandemic is having on the company,” Parry said. “Very shortly department heads will be contacting individuals that will be impacted by the furloughs to provide further details.”

Parry was put in charge of the publisher formerly known as American Media on Aug. 21 when its controlling shareholder, hedge fund Chatham Asset Management, announced a merger with Accelerate 360, which distributes magazines and other products to stores.

American Media, which employs some 400 people, was renamed A360 Media and its longtime CEO David Pecker gave up the reigns, although he’s still calling the editorial shots, sources say.