The Washington Post, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, began implementing a sweeping round of layoffs today, according to sources and media reports, as the prestigious American newspaper has been facing difficulties in recent years.
A source told AFP that many foreign correspondents will be dismissed, while the sports and local news departments are also particularly affected by the large wave of job cuts, according to media reports.
“You cannot dismantle a newsroom without consequences for its credibility, influence, and future,” said the Post Guild, the newspaper’s union.
“Over the past three years alone, the Post’s staff has been reduced by approximately 400 people,” the union added, stating that it “strongly opposes any further reductions.”
“The entire team” covering the Middle East, as well as “most” foreign correspondents, will lose their jobs, one of the affected employees told AFP.
The newspaper, which exposed the Watergate scandal and has won multiple Pulitzer Prizes, has been in crisis for several years.
