Please note that this reflects the impact on Post Guild-represented employees only and the full company-wide impact is even greater.
This shows the true scope of these layoffs — and it’s deeper than numbers on a page.
These numbers aren’t just statistics. They reflect careers, communities, and a profound shift in who gets to shape the journalism and mission of The Washington Post.
We will continue to bargain with the hope that these cuts are rescinded and the demand that management agrees to a humane separation package. #SaveThePost
… I cannot imagine any path to rebuilding our brand and our readership without that.”
“The idea of rebuilding our breaking news infrastructure when you’ve laid off almost all the people who already knew how to handle it for you is nonsensical. The only possible conclusion from all of this is that The Post no longer wants to be competitive on breaking news …
… and families to death’s door? Who is going to wade into those scenes and share the stories of those who are left behind? Who is going to document those experiences and translate them into a thesis of what is unfolding in this country?”
“What will the Post do the next time a gunman opens fire in a school classroom? Who is going to make the gut wrenching calls to the parents, friends and classmates of the students who are killed? How will the Post produce news when rigid, rushing floodwaters drag entire homes …
“These cuts make no sense and don’t appear to have been made by anyone with any passing understanding of what our team did or does. You took a group that had real passion for the work and people they did it with and turned that into a group that feels betrayed, broken, confused.”
… That’s what you’ve done, and you have to reckon with an inferior product, with journalists who are over it, with overworked staff, and now with ex-employees who aren’t sure if they can live in the US.”
“When I leave [...], I cannot say with certainty that I’m going to subscribe to The Washington Post. I am not alone in that, I know our subscribers feel the same way …
… Most of all, I believe that we deserve the dignity to be told in person, not over Zoom, not over email — that our positions [...] have been ‘eliminated.’ I felt that I, that we, deserved that at a minimum.
We didn’t get that dignity.”
“I didn’t want to be disconnected from my beloved colleagues. I wanted to be with them no matter what happened. If I was to be spared, I wanted to support those who were not. And if I was to be let go, I wanted to feel the unity of my colleagues …
“I signed a multi-year letter of understanding. I did this because I trusted the Post. Four months. That’s how long this three year commitment lasted.”
“I almost couldn’t believe it: That we would be laid off by email, standing on the sidewalk outside the office we’d reported to in the middle of a pandemic, when people were throwing bricks and setting cars on fire outside, when we’d been hit with tear gas and pepper spray.”
“Over the past two years, The Post’s Video Department has been reduced from roughly 65 people to roughly 5 people. These cuts not only remove institutional and subject-area expertise, but they will make it nearly impossible for the company to do what it publicly says it wants.”
… The people who carried the work, raised concerns, warned about budgets and made our team successful are the ones who were let go.”
“You would rarely find leadership in the building after 5 p.m., while the rest of us stayed late — exhausted, overworked and still giving everything we had. These are the leaders who were kept …
After decimating the organization, we are bargaining per our contract with management. We have featured testimonials from Post employees. Here’s some of them had to say. Here’s what these layoffs have done to us. #SaveThePost 🧵
Monday night after working hours, our members who are being targeted for layoffs by The Washington Post were locked out of their work devices, platforms and The Post building.
Will Lewis’s exit is long overdue. His legacy will be the attempted destruction of a great American journalism institution. But it's not too late to save The Post. Jeff Bezos must immediately rescind these layoffs or sell the paper to someone willing to invest in its future.
Can’t say enough: Thank y’all so much for this.
So many have given to The Post Guild’s fundraising effort, and we are floored. But we also ask you to consider supporting the fundraiser for our international staff and staff in our bureaus who aren’t Guild eligible. They are absolutely vital to coverage. www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo...
Here’s a GoFundMe that the @postguild.bsky.social has organized to support laid-off colleagues, which I learned about through @nytimesguild.bsky.social colleagues ✊
www.gofundme.com/f/standing-t...
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I have so many thoughts about what was unleashed on @washingtonpost.com and many of my @postguild.bsky.social siblings yesterday.
The most productive thought is to support them.
Please give generously with me to help these dedicated journalists who are paying the price for others’ cowardice.
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I’ve seen the GoFundMe for @postguild.bsky.social employees impacted by layoffs circulating, but a recently laid off pal mentioned that the GoFundMe for international correspondents and employees could use some love: www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo...
Thank you, Matt. We just want to report the news for you and others.
And if you have the means to support these workers, please consider donating to this GoFundMe, overseen by members of @postguild.bsky.social:
www.gofundme.com/f/standing-t...
If inclined, these are two ongoing efforts:
Post Guild staff: gofund.me/944826aca
Non-Guild-eligible international staff and support staff: gofund.me/1cc1983c9
