Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, one of Pennsylvania’s largest newspapers, has formally notified the state that it will close on May 3 and lay off its entire staff – 171
employees.
The publication filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) announcing the closure. The layoffs will take place during a 14-day period starting on May
4.
It is not clear if this is the result of business problems. Owner Block Communications said it has lost money trying to keep the paper alive.
“Over the past 20 years,
Block Communications has lost more than $350 million in cash operating the Post-Gazette,” the company said in a press release in January. “Despite those efforts, the realities
facing local journalism make continued cash losses at this scale no longer sustainable.”
In November 2025, the 3rd Circuit Court ordered
the Post-Gazette to compensate staff members for workers’ rights violations committed over the last five years, thus upholding a September 2024 ruling by the National
Labor Relations Board. But the Gazette announced it would appeal the decision up to the Supreme Court and that it would close the newspaper if it lost.
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That quickly
happened. The U.S. Supreme Court refused a bid by Block to stay the order by the Third Circuit Court.
But there may be hope. Staff members told station KDKA that it may survive under new
owners. Well, it's a long shot.