The Washington Post has begun laying off about 4 percent of its workforce, the company said Tuesday, as the newspaper struggles to eliminate millions of dollars in annual losses.
The cuts will affect fewer than 100 people across all parts of The Post's business, including its sales, marketing and information technology teams. They will not affect The Post's newsroom, which two years ago cut its workforce as part of a voluntary buyout plan that eliminated 240 jobs.
The cuts are part of a plan to adjust to changing business conditions, the company said in a statement.
“The Washington Post continues to transform itself to meet the needs of the industry, build a sustainable future and reach audiences where they are,” the statement said. “The changes across our business operations all serve our overarching goal of positioning the Post in the best possible position for the future.”
The Washington Post has struggled to turn a profit in recent years, as its digital subscription business has failed to reduce print revenue and newsroom costs. Will Lewis, publisher of The Post, said at last year's conference that by 2023, The Post would lose $77 million and face a decline in its digital audience from 2020.
The Post has been in turmoil for much of Mr Lewis' tenure, which began last year. Sally Buzbee stepped down as editor-in-chief of the newspaper in June. Rob Winnett, editor Mr. Lewis who first appointed Ms. Buzbee, resigned from that position. The newspaper also faced controversy among its subscribers over the decision to end its decades-long practice of endorsing presidential candidates. Ann Telnaes, the newspaper's Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, stepped down last week after a section of opinion rejected a cartoon showing Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder who owns The Post, looking at a statue of President-elect Donald J. Trump.
Several reporters have recently left the paper, including Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer, two well-known political reporters, who joined the Atlantic, and Josh Dawsey, an investigative political reporter, who left the Wall Street Journal.
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