The Washington Post lays off 4% of staff
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The Washington Post office in Washington, D.C. Photo: Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Washington Post on Tuesday began informing staff that it would be cutting 4% of its staff, impacting fewer than 100 roles across business functions.
Why it matters: The cuts come amid an unprecedented number of newsroom defections and anxiety around expected leadership and structural changes,
Zoom in: The cuts are meant to help streamline the Post's workforce to focus on a new strategy under CEO Will Lewis, who has been at the company for a year.
- A spokesperson confirmed the cuts saying the Post, "is continuing its transformation to meet the needs of the industry, build a more sustainable future and reach audiences where they are. Changes across our business functions are all in service of our greater goal to best position The Post for the future."
Of note: Lewis is at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, alongside other Washington Post executives, meeting with advertising and business partners.
👟 State of play: The cuts come amid growing anxiety within the Post's newsroom as it prepares to cover the second Trump administration.
- Monday brought more announcements about star political reporters leaving — another gut punch to the Post newsroom, which has seen a slew of top talent flee in recent weeks amid frustration with management.
- Puck announced it hired Leigh Ann Caldwell as its chief Washington correspondent. The Wall Street Journal confirmed it hired Josh Dawsey, one of the Post's top Trump chroniclers.
- Last week, two of the Post's other top political reporters, Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer, moved to The Atlantic. Tyler Pager, a rising talent, was poached by the New York Times as a White House reporter, joining former Post managing editor Matea Gold, who announced last month that she's moving to the Times as deputy Washington bureau chief.
On the opinion side, cartoonist Ann Telnaes, a Pulitzer Prize winner, quit last Friday. Several opinion editors stepped down from the Post's editorial board last year after the paper's endorsement of Vice President Harris for president was spiked at the 11th hour at the behest of owner Jeff Bezos.
Reality check: Staffing changes are expected at political news outlets following an election year.
- But the turnover at the Post ahead of a new administration taking office has been unprecedented, especially given that it offered voluntary buyouts to 240 staffers in late 2023.
- The Post also laid off 54 people at its publishing tech arm Arc XP last year.
The big picture: Once a close national competitor to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, the Post is now battling for relevance in its own backyard.
- While the Times and Journal continue to build their digital subscriber bases, the Post reported that 250,000 subscribers canceled after the endorsement debacle — about 10% of digital subscribers.
What to watch: Numerous Post editors and reporters have told Axios that if there's a plan or vision, they don't know what it is.
- Just before the holidays, the Post announced WP Ventures, formerly known as the "Third Newsroom," with a focus on "expanding our presence on social media and creating new commercial opportunities for consumer and lifestyle journalism, while accelerating innovation and cross-company collaboration."
- Lewis has yet to formally announce a permanent executive editor to replace Sally Buzbee, who stepped down last year. Matt Murray, a veteran editor, has been leading the newsroom as interim executive editor for the past few months.
