IFJ - International Federation of Journalists

01/09/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/09/2025 09:08

USA: The Washington Post lays off 4% of its staff

09 January 2025

USA: The Washington Post lays off 4% of its staff

On 7 January The Washington Post announced the firing of nearly 100 employees. The cuts mainly affect business operations, the Washington post reported. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate the NewsGuild-CWA, in expressing its deep concerns over these developments. Both organisations emphasise the need to protect the rights of employees who are essential to maintaining the publication's quality.

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Credit: Brendan Smialowski/ AFP

The layoffs follow a series of challenges for the Washington Post, including a reported loss of $77 millionin 2023, and the cancellation of over 250,000 subscriptions, after owner Jeff Bezos blocked an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. The financial struggles have been also affected by the departure of several high-profile journalists in recent months, multiple columnists,alongside public resignations such as Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes. Telnaes left after the Post declined to publish a satirical cartoon critical of Bezos.

The IFJ-affiliated News Guild-CWA stated that they were not consulted beforehand regarding the layoffs since their contract with The Washington Post lets management to carry out layoffs. However, they emphasized that they are actively supporting their members in advocating for better compensation packages for those affected. The Guild has strongly condemned the layoffs, saying: "It is especially disturbing that Post CEO Will Lewis has not directly addressed his employees in 230 days."The Guild added: "The diligent, talented workers that make The Post every day should not bear the consequences of poor decisions made by Post executives."

The Post's layoff follows other media outlets', including the Associated Press, which recently announcedits own workforce reductions by 8% or the HuffPost which also reported on 7 January that they are set to lay off 30 editorial roles.

"We stand in solidarity with our colleagues at The Washington Post who are facing these sudden changes and other colleagues in the US media whose jobs are currently under threat ," said IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger,."Journalists and media workers deserve stable and secure employment, and any transformation of the company should prioritize protecting the workers and be done in full consultation with their union representatives.

For more information, please contact IFJ on +32 2 235 22 16

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