The Washington Post announced a widespread layoff on Wednesday, affecting its sports department and reducing its international operations. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Executive Editor Matt Murray made the announcement during a call with employees, which began at 6:30 PM local time (8:30 AM ET).
“All departments are impacted,” Murray stated in the company-wide call. “The politics and government desks will remain our largest and most central to our engagement and subscriber growth.”
Reuters did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.
This move follows earlier announcements of scaled-back Olympic coverage amid mounting financial losses, as news outlets struggle to maintain sustainable business models after the internet disrupted traditional journalism economics. Digital ad rates have plummeted in this new landscape where trust has shifted toward creators.
The Washington Post, owned by Jeff Bezos, who also founded Amazon.com, had previously announced job cuts across various functions last year and offered voluntary separation packages that year, totaling a loss of $100 million. In January, The Post’s White House staff wrote to Jeff Bezos, emphasizing the necessity of maintaining collaboration with teams at risk of layoff in their most impactful coverage areas, given the paper’s current financial challenges.
Diversifying its newsroom has become essential amidst these circumstances, highlighting the broader implications of economic pressures on journalism.