Washington Post joins industry layoffs: 'It's bad, just bad'
CNN reports that The Washington Post will be announcing the number of layoffs soon.
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Inside The Washington Post newsroom in 2015 (The Washington Post)
The Washington Post joined on Tuesday the list of companies conducting layoffs, US media outlet CNN reported on Tuesday citing sources informed on the matter.
This comes just one month after WaPo’s CEO announced that the publishing firm will trim its employee count in early 2023.
According to the CNN report, the number of staff to be cut is still unknown.
2022 hasn't been kind to major #US tech companies, as inflation, soaring prices, and the pandemic has hit different industries. pic.twitter.com/3s3yuiEGZL
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) January 10, 2023
In his December announcement, Ryan said the expected count of layoffs would be in the “single digit percentage," stressing that the staff cuts would not result in a “net reduction” of its workforce; rather, it will be invested in other areas of the company.
Ryan’s announcement caused outrage in the newspaper company, the report added, citing around a dozen employees.
“The mood is really grim,” one employee told CNN then. “People are just so livid right now. It’s bad. Just bad.”
On Tuesday, The Washington Post Guild, a Union representing over 1,000 WaPo employees, notified its members that it is working on determining the number of staff effect, CNN said according to a note it obtained.
The note added that the Guild had “good reason to believe that the number of people affected is far smaller than what Fred Ryan initially alluded to” last December.
“But to be clear, we believe any job eliminations right now — at a time of continued growth and expansion — are unacceptable,” the Union said. “To our colleagues impacted today, we are sorry, and we’re here for you.”
“Today is a hard day for us all,” the Guild said. “We’re devastated for our colleagues and angered by the irresponsible and illogical decision-making from The Post. But we’re not done fighting or standing up for each other.”
Read more: More than half US workers think of quitting their jobs in 2023: poll
According to the news site, the layoffs announcement came just days after the company’s owner, Jeff Bezos, made a visit to the newsroom and met with Ryan and Executive Editor Sally Buzbee.
Kathy Baird, chief communications officer at WaPo, stated last December that the staff cuts are necessary as the newspaper is heading toward “evolving and transforming to put our business in the best position for future growth.”
“We are planning to direct our resources and invest in coverage, products, and people in service of providing high value to our subscribers and new audiences,” Baird said then.
In recent months, tech and media giants went on a layoff spree cutting tens of thousands of jobs, as the companies struggle with low ad revenue and a surplus of employees that were hired at a fast pace during the pandemic, according to their claim.
Read more: Staff reductions across Silicon valley after hiring at breakneck speed
Most tech companies argue that they hired at a massive pace during the pandemic as a means of meeting the global demand for goods and services.
In addition to WaPo’s recent decision, major news outlets such as BBC, CNN, NBC News, MSNBC, Vox media, and other companies slashed their workforce recently.
Spotify Technology, the Swedish music streaming giant, said on Monday that it is planning on laying off hundreds of its workforce, just a few days after Google announced it will be cutting 12,000 jobs.
In October of last year, it was reported that the digital-advertising industry has shown signs of fragility, as search company Google reported its fifth consecutive quarter of slow sales growth.
Youtube, which figures among one of Google's core properties, has also indicated a drop in advertising revenues this quarter.
Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc., racked up $69.1 billion in the third quarter last year, which highlights a meager increase of 6.1% compared to the same period the year prior.
Earlier last week, Microsoft announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs in the near future, like Facebook, Meta, and Twitter which did likewise recently.
It is worth noting that smaller tech firms like UK-based cybersecurity firm Sophos and cryptocurrency players like Coinbase have also announced job cuts affecting up to 20% of their employees.
According to data collected by the Layoffs.fyi website, more than 55,000 tech employees globally have been laid off so far in 2023.
