Washington Post to lay off 4% of staff to cut costs

(Reuters) - The Washington Post said on Tuesday it would lay off about 4% of its workforce or less than 100 employees in a bid to cut costs, as the storied newspaper grapples with growing losses.

The newspaper is making changes across several business functions, a spokesperson said, while suggesting the job cuts will not impact its newsroom.

The newspaper, owned by Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN ) founder Jeff Bezos, is among many news outlets struggling to maintain a sustainable business model in the decades since the internet upended the economics of journalism and caused a sharp decline in digital advertising rates.

The Post has seen a decline its digital readership and reported a $77 million loss in 2023.

"The Washington Post is continuing its transformation to meet the needs of the industry, build a more sustainable future and reach audiences where they are," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

In 2023, executives at The Post offered voluntary buyouts across the company to reduce employee headcount by about 10% and shrink the size of the newsroom to about 940 journalists.

The Associated Press also said in November it would lay off about 8% of its workforce.



The Post, which appointed William Lewis (JO:LEWJ ) as its CEO in early 2024, had decided not to endorse a candidate in the November U.S. presidential election, leading to more than 200,000 people canceling their digital subscriptions.

Bezos defended the move not to issue an endorsement, saying in an opinion piece in the paper that "most people believe the media is biased", and the Post and other newspapers need to boost their credibility.

Source: Investing.com