Washington Post to lay off one-third of staff from newsroom and other departments

The Washington Post is laying off a third of its staff in the newsroom and other departments, a major blow to one of journalism’s legendary brands.

The embattled Post began implementing sweeping cuts on Wednesday, including eliminating its sports department and reducing the number of journalists posted abroad. The changes were announced by executive editor Matt Murray in a Zoom meeting with the staff.

The staff cuts are a significant psychic blow to the Post, best known in history books for the Watergate revelations and more recently for its aggressive coverage of President Donald Trump’s cuts to the federal workforce and journalism in general.

Staff members in the newsroom were told they would receive emails with one of two subject lines announcing whether that person’s role had been eliminated. A Post representative confirmed that one-third of the staff would be cut, without saying how many total employees the newspaper has.

Murray told staff members that the newspaper’s book department would be closed, and its Washington-area news department and editing staff would be reorganized. Its post reports the podcast will be suspended.

Murray acknowledged that the cuts would be a blow to the system, but said the goal was to create a position that could grow and develop again.

“The Washington Post is taking several difficult but decisive actions today for our future, amounting to a significant restructuring at the company,” a Post spokesperson said in a statement.

“These moves are designed to strengthen our position and sharpen our focus on providing distinctive journalism that differentiates the Post and, most importantly, connects our subscribers.”

Moves expected for weeks

A private company, Post does not disclose how many subscribers it has, although the number is thought to be around two million.

The move had been expected for weeks, after news leaked that the Post had told its sports staff, who had arranged to cover the Winter Olympics in Italy, that they would not be leaving. After it became public, the Post reversed its stance and said it would send a limited number of employees.

The Post’s troubles stand in contrast to its longtime competitor The New York Times, which has thrived in recent years largely due to investments in ancillary products like its games site and Wirecutter product recommendations. The Times has doubled its staff over the past decade.

In recent weeks, several Post staff members have been appealing directly to the newspaper’s owner, billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The newspaper has upset subscribers in part because of decisions it has made — such as withdrawing from endorsing Kamala Harris, a Democrat, against Trump, a Republican, during the 2024 presidential election, and directing a more conservative turn to liberal opinion pages.

The Washington Post Guild, the staff members’ union, urged the public to send a message to Bezos: “Enough is enough. Without Washington Post employees, there is no Washington Post.”