The Washington Post is laying off one-third of its workforce, significantly reducing coverage in sports, local, and foreign news sections.
The layoffs were announced by executive editor Matt Murray, who described them as necessary for the paper’s “stability,” despite acknowledging that the measures were painful.
What they’re saying: Murray cited a sharp decline in online traffic over the past three years and said the paper was “too rooted in a different era,” noting the impact of the artificial intelligence boom on news consumption.
- The Washington Post Guild, foreign correspondents, and local reporters voiced strong opposition, warning that continued staff cuts would weaken the paper and its mission.
- Journalists affected by the layoffs expressed anger on social media, with the paper’s former Cairo bureau chief and Ukraine correspondent among those losing their jobs.
Go deeper: Most of the newspaper’s metro section staff, responsible for covering Washington, D.C., were also laid off.
- The layoffs follow a series of prior staff cuts and buyouts, as The Post faces financial challenges and editorial controversies.
- The paper recently lost tens of thousands of subscribers after deciding not to endorse a 2024 presidential candidate, breaking a longstanding tradition of endorsing Democratic candidates.
- The shift last year to emphasize “personal liberties and free markets” in the opinion section led to the resignation of that section’s editor.
