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
Vox Media – 12 people
9 January: Layoffs have been made at Vox.com, which the company described as “a difficult but necessary step as the industry evolves”.
A spokesperson said: “Going forward, Vox will focus resources where it is most competitive and distinctive, while creating a more collaborative structure across all platforms (text, podcast, video). Being more focused will help Vox to build a sustainable business for the long term, while maintaining its core editorial sensibility and continuing to serve the audience where they value Vox most.”
The Writers Guild of America, East told The Wrap 12 people had lost their jobs as a result.
It comes a month after journalists were laid off on Vox Media sister brands Thrillist and Eater.
Global Radio – Unknown number
9 January: UK radio company Global reportedly told staff of plans to end its local and regional shows on its Hearst, Smooth and Capital stations in England, with job losses expected as a result. However no details have yet been announced.
Reckon – 11 people
8 January: Reckon, a US news organisation that covers “reckonings in America” including via climate justice, racial justice, queer issues and trans rights, is shutting down with the loss of a reported 11 jobs.
Nieman Lab’s Sarah Scire said Reckon’s “Black Joy brand, newsletter and two associated employees will be moved to New Jersey Advance Media”.
Reckon and New Jersey Advance Media are both part of Advance Local, with the same ultimate owner as Conde Nast.
Reckon began life in the AJ.com newsroom in Alabama in 2017 before becoming its own brand with ambitions to be a national newsroom “centering stories of people traditionally boxed out of mainstream outlets”. A number of people were laid off just under a year ago.
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.
Update: Two days later, Belton said she would leave the newsroom herself on 31 January as part of the cut to staff numbers.
She wrote in a note to staff: “Due to the fragilities of our industry and how they’re impacting Huffpost, I announced Tuesday that there will be a significant staff reduction in our newsroom. This decision was not made lightly. We unfortunately have to do this to right-size our business so Huffpost can survive this challenging time.
“No part of the newsroom is immune from this. Even me… This decision was difficult, yet obvious for me. Huffpost leadership made no decision to cut staff lightly, and in hopes of saving some roles, I knew I would face eliminating my own. I could not, in good faith, ask others to make this difficult decision without doing the same.”
She added that the company needs to decide “what next steps to take with the editor-in-chief role”.
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.
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