Sara Fischer: AP to cut 8% of staff through layoffs, buyouts

November 18, 2024

Source: AXIOS

Written by: Sara Fischer

This piece is by WWSG exclusive thought leader, Sara Fischer.

The Associated Press on Monday told staff it plans to reduce its staff count through layoffs and voluntary buyouts to invest further in efforts that will help modernize the brand.

Why it matters: AP is a not-for-profit agency, which means its profits must be reinvested further into the organization.

In recent years, it’s pushed to grow its income by investing in different business areas, like advertising. But the broader ad market is slow for news companies right now.

Zoom in: In a note to staff, AP’s CEO Daisy Veerasingham said the company plans to reduce its workforce by 8% through a combination of buyouts and layoffs.

Less than half of the staff reductions will impact the news division, she noted.
The company will offer a voluntary separation plan to a small number of eligible staff, based on department, role and length of employment, Veerasingham wrote.
She added that the AP has reached a tentative agreement with the News Media Guild to extend the buyout offer to some of its unionized staff in the U.S. that’s subject to union ratification.

Zoom out: The staff cuts reflect broader challenges facing the entire media industry. Dozens of media companies have cut staffers this year amid an advertising slowdown and subscription fatigue.

The bottom line: “We all know this is a time of transformation in the media sector,” Veerasingham wrote in her note.

“Our customers – both who they are and what they need from us – are changing rapidly. This is why we’ve focused on delivering a digital-first news report. We now need to accelerate on this path.”

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