• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, February 3, 2025

Newsroom workers at The Wall Street Journal are facing an “unsettling” restructuring that will largely impact the Life & Work  team. 

Emma Tucker, editor in chief of the WSJ, announced the changes to the Business, Finance & Economics group under Marie Beaudette last week. 

“I want this whole coverage area moving as one to tackle the biggest stories on our core subjects, in all the ways our audiences need,” Tucker wrote. 

But this restructuring has rankled the IAPE union, which represents WSJ newsroom employees.

“While IAPE has received no notices of member layoffs in that or other departments this week, we are concerned about a lack of communication by management about the restructuring’s aims,” the union says. 

It adds, “We know positions outside of the IAPE bargaining unit were eliminated this week and that many of our members are shouldering the difficult departure of longtime colleagues and are fearful about their own job security.”

In one change, Life & Work will no longer be a standalone coverage area. Instead, WSJ is setting a new group under the heading of Corporate.

This will include manufacturing, autos, aviation, retail, food, agriculture “and the consumer-focused coverage of Life & Work,” Tucker writes.  The WSJ is now seeking a leader for this team.

Another shift is the setting up of a Tech & Media team to cover big tech, personal tech, media and entertainment. A leader is also being sought for this group.

The seven groups also include:

• Wall Street & Markets, a group that will be led by Amol Sharma as Financial Editor.’
• Economics—Tammy Audi will continue leading this team. 
• Energy—Chris Manager will add big energy companies, energy transition, climate commodities, energy markets and energy policy to his portfolio of energy related subjects.  subjects.
• Europe Business & Finance—Alex Frangos  is heading up this area.
• Commentary & Analysis—This group will be led by David Reilly.

It all sounds reasonable. But the IAPE remains concerned. “We’re left with the same questions we’ve been asking for years: When will this end?" it asks. "Can we stop living in fear and focus on doing good work? What is the point of all these changes, really?”