Washington Post is set to cut 240 positions – 10% of its staff – across the organization to ‘avoid more layoffs’

The Washington Post plans to cut some 240 jobs to offset waning digital numbers.

Confirmed Tuesday, the plan will see the paper lose almost 10 percent of its workforce – their second staff reduction so far this year.

Patty Stonesifer, the publication’s interim chief executive officer, said she hopes to carry out the initiative through voluntary buyouts offered this week, and that more details would be unveiled in a staff meeting Wednesday.

The abrupt announcement comes toward the end of a tough year for the media industry, with publications like CNN, The Los Angeles Times, and NPR all engaging in layoffs, often to account for falling online subscription and advertising revenue.

In a companywide email, Stonesifer said the Post – owned by Jeff Bezos – is no different, months after the sudden resignation of longtime CEO Fred Ryan in June. 

Bezos bought the paper for $250 million about a decade ago, and has previously said he wants the venture to be ‘profitable’

Ryan, a former Reagan aide who was also the paper’s publisher, has faced blame for much of the Post’s troubles, which Stonesifer said Tuesday she is seeking to right.

Calling the situation ‘urgent,’ the Amazon board member enlisted by Bezos earlier this year wrote how the cut will hopefully ‘return our business to a healthier place in the coming year.’ 

‘Our prior projections for traffic, subscriptions and advertising growth for the past two years – and into 2024 – have been overly optimistic,’ she said a little over three months into her temporary tenure.

‘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.’

Patty Stonesifer, the Amazon board member enlisted Bezos to head the paper earlier this year, said she hopes to carry out the initiative through voluntary buyouts offered this week