• The Washington Post announced layoffs affecting fewer than 100 employees in sales, marketing and IT teams due to financial losses and declining digital readership.
• The newspaper reported a $77 million loss in 2023, with a 14 percent decline in digital revenue and a 12 percent drop in total revenue since 2021. Its digital subscriber base has decreased from 3 million in 2020 to 2.5 million, and monthly unique visitors to its website have dropped from 101 million in 2020 to 50 million in 2023.
• The newsroom, which previously underwent significant cuts in 2021, will not be directly impacted by the latest round of layoffs, highlighting the paper’s ongoing transformation to meet industry needs.
• Controversy surrounding the newspaper’s endorsement policies, specifically owner Jeff Bezos’ decision to block the editorial board from endorsing outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, has led to a mass exodus of subscribers and staff members, with up to 250,000 subscribers canceling memberships in protest.
• Prominent journalists, including columnists and political reporters, have left the paper in recent months, further exacerbating the situation and raising concerns about the newspaper’s ability to maintain editorial independence.

The Washington Post has announced that it would lay off approximately four percent of its workforce due to significant financial losses and declining digital readership.

The layoffs, which will affect fewer than 100 employees, will affect sales, marketing and information technology teams. The newsroom, which underwent significant cuts in 2021 with the elimination of 240 jobs, will not be directly impacted by this round of layoffs. (Related: Mass layoffs incoming: 50% of employers plan to cut jobs in the next 12 months.)

The newspaper, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, reported a $77 million loss in 2023, with a substantial decline in its digital subscriber base since 2020. The Poynter also revealed that the news outlet has seen a 14 percent decline in digital revenue and a 12 percent drop in total revenue since 2021. The publication’s digital subscriber base, which peaked at three million in 2020, now stands at 2.5 million. Monthly unique visitors to the newspaper’s website have also plummeted, from 101 million in 2020 to 50 million 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 statement read. “Changes across our business functions are all in service of our greater goal to best position the Post for the future.”

The latest round of layoffs is part of a larger trend affecting the news industry, which has struggled to adapt to the shift toward digital consumption and the decline in print advertising revenue. As newspapers and other media outlets continue to grapple with these challenges, the Post‘s cuts serve as a stark reminder of the ongoing transformation of the industry.

Mass exodus of subscribers and staff members

These financial challenges come against a backdrop of increasing alienation between the newsroom and Bezos and publisher Will Lewis.

Moreover, Bezos sparked a firestorm of controversy and outrage by blocking the editorial board from endorsing Harris in the Nov. 5 presidential election. In the aftermath of Bezos’ decision, it is estimated that as many as 250,000 subscribers canceled their memberships in protest. Additionally, two prominent columnists, Michele Norris and Robert Kagan, have resigned from the newspaper in protest, while two other editorial board members, Molly Roberts and David Hoffman, have stepped down from their positions.

Adding to the turmoil, two of the Post‘s top political reporters, Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer, have been lured away by The Atlantic, which is owned by a group funded by billionaire Laurene Powell Jobs. Another highly valued investigative reporter, Josh Dawsey, is set to join the Wall Street Journal, while White House correspondent Tyler Pager is reportedly considering his options or has already decided to leave.

The departure of these journalists has been accompanied by a broader restructuring of the newsroom under the leadership of the head of newsroom operations, James Lewis. In a further blow to the newspaper’s credibility, Ann Telnaes, a longtime cartoonist, announced her resignation in protest over the decision to spike an illustration that mocked Bezos as subservient to President-elect Donald Trump. This move has only added to the perception that the newspaper is no longer able to maintain its editorial independence.

Learn more about the unraveling of the American economy at Collapse.news.

Watch this video that talks about how the mass layoffs of 2008 and 2009 are happening again as companies try to avoid getting caught with bloated payrolls.

This video is from The Prisoner channel on Brighteon.com.

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Many companies are already on their second round of mass layoffs.

Sources include:

Reuters.com

NYPost.com

Brighteon.com