The Associated Press announced on Monday that the news company is going to implement layoffs and will be offering employee buyouts in an effort to decrease its staffing number by roughly 8% and transition to a “digital-first” news source.
“We all know this is a time of transformation in the media sector,” Associated Press CEO Daisy Veerasingham told staff members on Monday. “Our customers — both who they are and what they need from us — are changing rapidly. This is why we’ve focused on delivering a digital-first news report. We now need to accelerate on this path.”
The Associated Press indicated that the company’s transition to emphasizing a “digital-first news report” will include prioritizing digital content, such as photos and videos. In an email to the company’s staff members, The Associated Press said, “As we modernize our products and operations, we will eliminate some positions across the organization.”
According to The Guardian, Veerasingham added, “I know this is difficult news, and there will be a period of uncertainty as we work through these changes.”
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The Associated Press job cuts come as other news outlets, such as CNN, have announced plans to reduce staffing following the 2024 presidential election.
While The Associated Press was once considered to be the largest news-gathering service in the world, the outlet no longer claims to be the largest news-gathering organization. The news service has not yet disclosed how many employees will be affected by the workforce reduction plans; however, The Associated Press indicated that less than half of the job cuts would affect employees directly involved in producing the news.
The News Media Guild said 121 of its members were expected to be offered buyouts. Meanwhile, The Associated Press indicated that the number of union member job cuts would be fewer than 121.
The upcoming Associated Press job cuts come after Gannett and McClatchy, two major news chains, confirmed that they would no longer purchase news from the outlet earlier this year. The outlet explained that despite attempting to diversify its revenue sources, including accepting donations, The Associated Press has struggled to overcome the problems facing other news companies.
