Washington Post ‘fires tons of of employees’ and shuts total sports activities division in brutal cuts
The Washington Post has announced a raft of cuts that will see ‘hundreds’ of staff lose their jobs and the entire sports department shut down.
The brutal cost-cutting measures were announced to staff on Wednesday morning during an internal Zoom call, the details of which were later shared by affected staff.
The Post’s executive editor, Matt Murray, reportedly started the call by telling employees: ‘First, we will be closing the sports department in its current form.’
Sports will instead be covered as ‘a cultural and societal phenomenon’, Murray explained, with some staffers staying on board but being shuffled to other departments.
That is despite there being seven major sports teams in, or near, the city: the NFL’s Commanders, the NBA‘s Wizards, MLB’s Nationals, the NHL’s Capitals, the WNBA‘s Mystics, MLS‘s DC United and the NWSL’s Spirit.
In addition, the books section has been scrapped, the daily Post Reports podcast axed and international coverage is being decreased, according to Front Office Sports.
The latest raft of cuts could see as many as 300 people lose their jobs across the company, with up to 100 newsroom staff culled, Status reported last week.
Those working in the newsroom were told they would receive emails with one of two subject lines, announcing whether their role had been axed.
The Washington Post has announced it is shuttering its entire sports department immediately
A Post representative confirmed that one-third of the staff would be cut, without saying how many total employees the newspaper has.
Prior to Wednesday’s decision, the sports desk at the Post reportedly had around 45 employees, but most of its reporters have now been laid off.
On X, various writers confirmed their departures from the paper, including NFL writer Mark Maske after nearly 38 years at the company.
Other reporters made redundant include sports investigative reporter Will Hobson, reporter Scott Allen, beat reporters Tashan Reed, Andrew Golden and Spencer Nusbaum, college sports reporter Jesse Dougherty, sports analyst Neil Greenberg and editor Sarah Larimer.
It was announced a fortnight ago that the Post had U-turned on its decision to send reporters to the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, canceling travel plans at short notice and telling its staff not to travel to the 2026 Games – despite having already spent a reported $80,000 on travel and accommodation.
The Post was bought by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in 2013 for $250 million but has struggled with declining subscriptions and web traffic in recent years.
The Washington Post Guild immediately hit back at the paper’s decision to cut so many staff this week, releasing a statement shortly after the Zoom call.
‘Continuing to eliminate workers only stands to weaken the newspaper, drive away readers and undercut the Post’s mission,’ it read.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos bought the paper in 2013 for $250m but it has struggled of late
‘If Jeff Bezos is no longer willing to invest in the mission that has defined this paper for generations and serve the millions who depend on Post journalism, then The Post deserves a steward that will.’
In a statement, a Post spokesman said: ‘The Washington Post is taking a number of difficult but decisive actions today for our future, in what amounts to a significant restructuring across the company.
‘These steps are designed to strengthen our footing and sharpen our focus on delivering the distinctive journalism that sets the Post apart and, most importantly, engages our customers.’
The Post, a private company, does not reveal how many subscribers it has, although the figure is believed to be about two million.
