Last week, four Condé Nast staffers were abruptly fired after participating in a union protest at the publisher’s 1 World Trade Center headquarters. The journalists had confronted chief people officer Stan Duncan outside his office, demanding answers on a fresh wave of layoffs that had just hit the company.
The incident followed Condé Nast’s announcement that Teen Vogue would be folded into Vogue.com, resulting in multiple layoffs, including Teen Vogue’s editor-in-chief.
Footage obtained by The Wrap shows Duncan declining to engage with employees, instead repeating that they should “go back to the workplace.”
In the clip, one of the journalists asks, “What counts as ‘congregating’? What’s your definition of ‘congregating’?” while another presses: “Is there a place you’d be able to speak to us? Do you think we’re not worth speaking to, Stan?” Duncan eventually retreats into an office.
Hours later, Condé Nast fired four union members involved in the incident citing “gross misconduct and policy violations.” The company also filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing the NewsGuild of “repeated and egregious disregard of our collective bargaining agreement.”
The clip, which The Wrap described as “the most brutally awkward thing you’ll see today,” has since garnered over 4 million views on X—with many weighing in on the state of workplace politics.
And reactions have been fairly mixed.
Critics of the firings accused Condé Nast of union-busting: “Just outrageous, shameful behavior from Condé’s head of HR Stan Duncan. You’ve just laid off some of your most respected, beloved, unionized staff—and the union reps come to ask questions. You have a professional duty to sit with them. That is literally your job,” one X user wrote.
Others defended the company’s decision. “Easy decision to fire these folks,” another wrote.
“These folks have a union, so they can simply let their representatives handle their concerns! Bringing a mob of folks to confront HR with cameras rolling?! So entitled, so dumb.”
On Reddit’s r/Layoffs forum, users were similarly divided. “I’m in HR and people like this give HR a bad reputation. Why would you be scared to talk to employees?” one commented.
Another wrote: “HR doesn’t make layoff business decisions. Curious what their goal was here and why they thought ambushing and filming someone in the workplace was the right thing to do lol.”
One simply put: “corporate drama at its finest. bet hr had a great day.”
In a statement, Condé Nast said: “Extreme misconduct is unacceptable in any professional setting. We have a responsibility to provide a workplace where every employee feels respected and able to do their job without harassment or intimidation. We also cannot ignore behavior that crosses the line into targeted harassment and disruption of business operations.”
However, union leaders disputed the company’s claims, arguing the footage tells a different story.
“Management’s attempt at union-busting, using intimidation and grossly illegal tactics to try to suppress protected union activity, will not stand,” said Susan DeCarava, president of The NewsGuild of New York, in a statement.
“The NewsGuild of New York has zero tolerance for bad bosses who harass, target and disrespect our fellow Guild members. We represent nearly 6,000 media workers across the tri-state area and we stand firmly in solidarity, ready to fight for the rights of our members illegally fired from their jobs at Condé.”
As the workforce continues to be roiled by layoffs and employer-employee relations more fraught than ever, it’s unlikely controversies like these will dissipate—especially when someone nearby is filming it with their phone.
