Los Angeles Times laid off 23% of its staff this Tuesday. The newspaper announced that it was laying off a total of 115 employees due to "another year of heavy losses." Staff learned the news through an online seminar hosted by the company's Human Resources department.
According to the owner of the newspaper, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the company could not afford to lose between $30 and $40 million without gaining a greater number of readers. This would allow them to make more from advertising and subscriptions and, therefore, be able to pay its workers:
Today’s decision is painful for all, but it is imperative that we act urgently and take steps to build a sustainable and thriving paper for the next generation. We are committed to doing so.
The president and Chief Operating Officer of the Times Chris Argentieri issued a statement discussing the layoffs. He claims that they were mainly due to the poor financial performance of the newspaper in the last year:
The economic reality of our organization is extremely challenging. Despite our owner’s willingness to continue to invest, we need to take immediate steps to improve our cash position.
'Los Angeles Times' departments most affected by layoffs
The newspaper announced that this last batch of layoffs affected positions such as Washington Bureau Chief Kimbriell Kelly; Deputy Chief of the Washington Bureau Nick Baumann; Business Editor Jeff Bercovici, Book Editor Boris Kachka and Music Editor Craig Marks. The Washington office and the photography and sports departments also experienced significant cuts.
The newspaper also reported that a quarter of the journalists who lost their jobs were people of color. This was pointed out by the President of the Media Guild of the West Matt Pearce. He also noted, in an email to members, that 94 of the people fired belonged to the union and that, in total, a quarter of the journalists belonging to the union had lost their jobs: "It’s a dark day at the Los Angeles Times. Many departments and clusters across the newsroom will be heavily hit."
The layoffs are one of the largest that the newspaper has had to make in its 142-year history. The Los Angeles Times had a tough year, In June 2023, the newspaper laid off 74 journalists, accounting for 13% of its staff. This means that, within six months, the newspaper let go of almost a third of its staff.
It is also a particularly difficult year for journalism. According to a report by Challenger Gray, more than 2,300 jobs were lost in this field in 2023 alone.
