• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, October 11, 2023

The Washington Post, arguably one of the top news products in the country, is offering buyouts to employees in an effort to reduce its headcount by 240 people. That means roughly 9.6% of its total staff.

This should come as no surprise to anyone who follows news about the Post the title owned by Jeff Bezos reportedly is facing a $100 million loss this year. 

“The urgent need to invest in our top growth priorities brought us to the difficult conclusion that we need to adjust our cost structure now,” interim CEO Patty Stonesifer wrote in an email to the staff, the Post reports. 

Stonesifer also blamed overly optimistic projections for subscription, traffic and advertising revenue over the past two years.   

In a contentious staff meeting on Wednesday, Stonesifer said, “this is a really good business, but we overshot on expenses,” according to the Daily Beast. She added that the job cuts would be shared equally by editorial and other departments. 

For its part, The Washington Post Guild blamed “a litany of poor business decisions at the top of our company,” the Post reports. 

In a statement, the Union said: “We cannot comprehend how The Post, owned by one of the richest people in the world, has decided to foist the consequences of its incoherent business plan and irresponsibly rapid expansion onto the hardworking people who make this company run.”

That seems a little harsh. Like its rival, The New York Times, The Post has been diversifying its content and services for the past couple of years, all of which cost money. 

Obviously, these decisions predated Stonesifer’s ascension as interim CEO in August. She was appointed when Fred Ryan announced he was stepping down after nine years at the helm, and one of her duties will be finding a permanent CEO. 

The Post announced a staff cut of 50 positions, 20 of which were in the form of layoffs, nine months ago. 

It eliminated its stand-alone magazine and free commuter newspaper. But it recently relaunched its Style section, which dates back to 1969, in digital form. 

Say one thing: The Post team itself covered this story in an honest way. And Bezos is adhering to his hands-off policy regarding editorial. It’s still a formidable newsroom.