Washington Post Lays Off a Third of Its Staff, Closes Sports Desk

The Washington Post laid off about one-third of its staff on Wednesday, eliminating its sports section and books coverage and sharply cutting foreign reporting, according to the Associated Press (via ABC7), CBS News, NBC News and Al Jazeera.

A Post spokesperson confirmed that the cuts affected roughly one-third of the workforce across all departments, but did not say how many people were let go, CBS News reported. The Post does not disclose its total headcount, so the exact number of people let go is unknown, the AP noted. NBC News said the cuts hit the sports and books units and that foreign desks were heavily affected, and Al Jazeera reported that several foreign bureaus were closed and parts of metro, editing and international coverage were reduced.

Executive editor Matt Murray announced the changes on a Zoom call, CBS News reported. The Post will restructure its local news and editing departments, close its books department and shrink its overseas presence, according to CBS, and columnist Barry Svrluga said the sports department will close in its “current form,” citing Murray. A company spokesperson described the moves as “difficult but decisive actions today for our future,” NBC News reported; Al Jazeera quoted a spokesperson calling the decision “difficult.”

Owner Jeff Bezos, who bought the paper in 2013, had no immediate public comment, according to the AP and CBS News, which said his communications team and Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Post did not endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, a decision that CBS News, NBC News and Al Jazeera each recalled in their coverage.

Former executive editor Marty Baron said the announcement “ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organizations,” NBC News and Al Jazeera reported. CBS News quoted him saying that “the scope of the coverage is going to be dramatically diminished.”

The Washington Post Guild said the layoffs “are not inevitable,” according to NBC News, and Al Jazeera also quoted the Guild on whether Bezos is still willing to invest in the paper’s mission.

The cuts followed weeks of rumors that began when sports reporters learned they would not travel to the Winter Olympics in Italy, the AP said; NBC News reported that the Post later reversed course on that decision after public criticism.