WASHINGTON, D.C.: One of America's most influential newspapers is undergoing a dramatic contraction, as The Washington Post began layoffs on February 4, affecting roughly a third of its workforce, sharply reducing newsroom capacity, and scaling back coverage amid mounting financial pressure.

The cuts will impact all departments at the Bezos-owned paper, according to a recording of a company-wide call shared with Reuters. A newspaper spokesperson said about a third of employees are being laid off, while the Washington-Baltimore News Guild union said the newsroom alone is losing "hundreds" of staffers.

Executive Editor Matt Murray told employees the reductions would affect the international, editing, metro, and sports desks. The move follows the Post's decision days earlier to scale back coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics, as the paper struggles with declining readership and revenue.

"For too long, we've operated with a structure that's too rooted in the days when we were a quasi-monopoly local newspaper," Murray said on the call, adding that "we need a new way forward and a sounder foundation."

Founded in 1877, The Washington Post has been grappling with industry-wide disruption as audiences increasingly turn to social media for news. Other major metropolitan newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, are facing similar pressures.

One Post reporter, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the layoffs as a "bloodbath."

Journalists affected include Amazon beat reporter Caroline O'Donovan, Cairo bureau chief Claire Parker, and the rest of the Post's Middle East correspondents and editors, according to posts by O'Donovan and Parker on X.

"The Washington Post is taking a number of difficult but decisive actions today for our future, in what amounts to a significant restructuring across the company," the paper said in a statement. "These steps are designed to strengthen our footing and sharpen our focus on delivering the distinctive journalism that sets The Post apart and, most importantly, engages our customers."

Jeff Bezos bought the paper from the Graham family in 2013 for US$250 million.

All Departments Impacted

News organizations have struggled for years to adapt to a digital-first media landscape that has eroded advertising and subscription revenue. The Post last year made changes across business functions and announced job cuts, saying then the newsroom would not be affected. In 2023, it offered voluntary separation packages amid losses of about $100 million.

The newspaper's paid average daily circulation fell to 97,000 in 2025, with roughly 160,000 on Sundays, down sharply from 250,000 daily in 2020, according to the Alliance for Audited Media.

"If Jeff Bezos is no longer willing to invest in the mission that has defined this paper for generations and serve the millions who depend on Post journalism, then The Post deserves a steward that will," the Washington Post Guild said on X.

The paper's White House staff warned Bezos last week that collaboration across desks, many of which are now affected by layoffs, is critical to effective coverage.

Murray said all departments were impacted, though he stressed the newsroom's political coverage would remain central. "Politics and government will remain our largest desk and will remain central to our engagement and subscriber growth," he said.

Don Graham, the paper's former publisher, said he was saddened by the cuts.

"I am sad that so many excellent reporters and editors - and old friends - are losing their jobs," he wrote on Facebook.

The layoffs come after years of tensions between Post journalists and Bezos, including criticism after the paper declined to endorse a candidate in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, prompting more than 200,000 digital subscription cancellations.

"Today's layoffs at the Washington Post are a devastating setback for the scores of individual journalists affected and for the journalism profession," National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. said.