Extract from ABC News
Staff at the Washington Post were told of mass layoffs at the paper on an all-company call. (AP: Alex Brandon)
In short:
The Washington Post is set to cut jobs across all of its news departments and will close its sports department, the newspaper's executive editor has told staff.
The changes at the paper, owned by Jeff Bezos, are being protested by staff but come as many outlets struggle to remain profitable.
One staff member told Reuters the cuts were a "bloodbath".
The Washington Post is set to implement widespread lay-offs that will drastically shrink the size of the storied newspaper, affecting all departments, its management has announced.
According to a recording of a company-wide call shared with Reuters, the paper's executive editor Matt Murray informed the staff of the cuts on Wednesday, local time.
There will be cuts across the international, editing, metro, and sports desks, and come just days after the more than 145-year-old newspaper scaled back its coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics amid mounting financial losses.
"For too long, we've operated with a structure that's too rooted in the days when we were a quasi-monopoly local newspaper," Mr Murray said on the call, adding that "we need a new way forward and a sounder foundation".
One Post reporter, speaking on condition of anonymity, called it a "bloodbath".
The impacted journalists include Amazon beat reporter Caroline O'Donovan, Cairo Bureau Chief Claire Parker and the rest of the Post's Middle East correspondents and editors, according to X posts from Ms Donovan and Ms Parker.
"The Washington Post is taking a number of difficult but decisive actions today for our future, in what amounts to a significant restructuring across the company," the Post said in a statement.
"These steps are designed to strengthen our footing and sharpen our focus on delivering the distinctive journalism that sets The Post apart and, most importantly, engages our customers."
'All departments impacted'
News outlets have struggled for years to maintain a sustainable business model after the internet up-ended the economics of journalism, and the Washington Post, which in the 1970s broke the Watergate scandal which ended Richard Nixon's presidency, has not been immune.
The paper last year made changes across several business functions and announced job cuts, saying then that the reductions would not impact its newsroom.
The outlet, owned by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, had offered voluntary separation packages to employees across all functions in 2023 amid losses of $US100 million ($143 million).
Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post in 2013, promising to uphold its journalism and editorial independence. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool via Reuters)
"All departments are impacted. Politics and government will remain our largest desk and will remain central to our engagement and subscriber growth," Mr Murray said in the call.
"We will be closing the sports department in its current form."
In a statement on X, the newspaper's union called on the Amazon founder to offload the paper rather than cut it back.
"If Jeff Bezos is no longer willing to invest in the mission that has defined this paper for generations and serve the millions who depend on Post journalism, then The Post deserves a steward that will," the WaPo Guild said.
The Post's White House staff said in a letter to Mr Bezos last week that their most impactful coverage depends heavily on collaboration with teams at risk of job cuts and that a diversified newsroom is essential when the paper faces financial challenges.
Mr Bezos said in 2013 when he bought the newspaper that he would preserve its journalistic tradition and would not lead its day-to-day operations.
But there "will, of course, be change" over the coming years, he had said.
Lay-offs are a 'devastating setback'
In recent years, The Post has clashed with some of its journalists, who have openly criticised Mr Bezos after the newspaper decided not to endorse a candidate in the November 2024 US presidential election, leading to more than 200,000 people cancelling their digital subscriptions.
The newspaper, which appointed William Lewis as its chief executive in early 2024, also revamped its opinion section last year, shifting focus on "personal liberties and free markets."
Mr Bezos was among the several tech executives seen as making overtures to US President Donald Trump last year.
He was seated prominently at Mr Trump's second inauguration, underscoring his shifting ties.
Mr Trump, who was a frequent critic of Mr Bezos during his first term — over what the Republican president deemed unfair coverage by The Post — praised the tech billionaire in March last year, saying Mr Bezos was doing "a real job" with the publication.
"Today's lay-offs at the Washington Post are a devastating setback for the scores of individual journalists affected and for the journalism profession," said National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr., in a statement.
Reuters
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