AP lays off small group of US-based journalists, part of restructuring plan
AP News • • business
Key Points:
- The Associated Press laid off an unspecified number of U.S.-based journalists as part of a restructuring focused on shifting from print journalism to visual journalism and other revenue sources.
- About 20 employees were confirmed laid off by midafternoon on Friday, following earlier voluntary buyouts from over 120 journalists offered last month.
- The News Media Guild criticized the layoffs, highlighting the dismissal of experienced photographers despite the company's stated priority on visual journalism.
- AP leadership stated the restructuring aims to align with changing customer needs and is being done from a position of strength, with a goal to reduce global staff by less than 5%.
- AP's revenue from newspapers has declined by 25% over four years, with increased revenue from broadcast, digital, and technology companies, including a 200% growth from tech firms.