The Washington Post has begun 2025 with a round of layoffs affecting around 4% of staff.
The same day, Huffpost said it would cut around 30 editorial positions.
Press Gazette will track journalism industry job cuts in the UK and US throughout 2025 with this regularly updated page.
In 2024, according to our analysis, there were around 4,000 journalism industry job losses.
The losses were double that number in 2023 when the industry hit at least 8,000 job cuts.
Journalism job cuts in 2025: Up-to-date list
January 2025 journalism job cuts
Huffpost – More than 30 people
7 January: Huffpost plans to cut more than 30 editorial roles “due to ongoing and growing challenges to our business”, editor-in-chief Danielle Belton has told staff.
Some desks in the newsroom may be offered voluntary buyout packages and more information will be given in the coming days, Belton said.
The Washington Post – Fewer than 100 people
7 January: The Washington Post is cutting around 4% of its workforce, amounting to fewer than 100 people across its business divisions.
Some 73 people in the advertising department, the worst affected, were reportedly let go. Marketing and IT teams were also hit.
The Daily Beast reported that six people from the Post’s PR department were laid off, with four people remaining. Staff were told the paper “will stop the dedicated practice of publicity for our journalism across broadcast and traditional media outlets” and will focus instead on promoting its talent.
“We need our journalism to be accessed at an even greater rate and we no longer believe traditional outreach is the way to get us there,” chief communications officer Kathy Baird said in a memo to staff.
The newsroom was not affected. The Post last cut its number of journalists in 2023 when it made 240 voluntary buyouts.
The Post Guild, which represents newsroom staff, told its members: “This is a really, really hard time, coming after a really hard time, which came after a really hard time at the company.”
The Post said in a statement shared with The New York Times: “The Washington Post is continuing its transformation to meet the needs of the industry, build a more sustainable future and reach audiences where they are. Changes across our business functions are all in service of our greater goal to best position The Post for the future.”
An internal memo said the Post is “redefining how we approach client partnerships and advertising to move us beyond the traditional ways we’ve worked”.
In September the Post cut 54 people (25%) from its publishing software arm Arc XP.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
