The future might be now, but that doesn’t mean you’re in it. A leaked memo from media giant Dotdash Meredith (the owner of titles including People, Food & Wine, Better Homes & Gardens, and Investopedia) has revealed that the company — “America’s largest digital and print publisher,” according to its own PR fluff — will be laying off 143 people, approximately 4 percent of its workforce. This comes on the heels of a smaller layoff in November of 2024, where 53 media workers lost their jobs at the company. The layoffs wouldn’t be so notable in a scarred and barren post-COVID media landscape, save for Dotdash’s massive “strategic partnership” with OpenAI in the spring of 2024. The deal is set to lavish Dotdash with at least $16 million in annual revenue, or at least until the AI bubble bursts. In exchange, OpenAI gets to plug “trusted content” — articles written by humans, presumably, though Meredith was involved in a hazy dalliance with an AI company prior to its acquisition by Dotdash — from the media corp’s 40-plus brands into its model, prioritizing answers that send users back to its content wherever possible. “As part of the agreement, OpenAI will display content and links attributed to Dotdash Meredith in relevant ChatGPT responses,” reads a Dotdash press release announcing the deal. “OpenAI will also collaborate with Dotdash Meredith to create new AI products and features for its readers and use historical and ongoing DDM content to enhance its model’s performance.” “This partnership delivers the best,…Large Publisher Lays Off More Than 100 Employees After Striking Deal With OpenAI