Overview
- A filmed hallway confrontation at One World Trade Center on Nov. 5, 2025 saw NewsGuild members press Condé Nast’s chief people officer about layoffs, and the company fired four employees and suspended five the next day.
- On May 27, 2026 the NewsGuild and Condé Nast announced a settlement that converted three terminations to allowed resignations with nearly two years of pay and letters of recommendation for each worker.
- The agreement awarded back pay to the five suspended staffers and expunged their disciplinary records so the suspensions no longer appear in personnel files.
- One of the fired employees, Wired’s Jake Lahut, was a probationary hire at the time, rejected a smaller offer and opted to continue an unfair labor practice case with the National Labor Relations Board.
- The outcome underscores how union contract protections differ for represented versus probationary workers and may influence how newsrooms and employers handle direct collective action and future disputes.