The Washington Post is to give voluntary departure packages to employees across all functions, according to a corporate representative on Tuesday, as the newspaper seeks to reduce its workforce.
The Post said that in an attempt to reduce headcount by 240, they will offer voluntary buyouts to its staff. However, they did not provide any specifics about the parting packages or the jobs affected.
This comes at a time when a sluggish advertising market combined with decreasing economic development has driven major technology and media firms to slash expenditures.
Interim CEO Patty Stonesifer told employees in an email that the Post’s subscription, traffic, and advertising projections for the past two years had been “overly optimistic,” and that the company is looking for ways to “return our business to a healthier place in the coming year.”
According to Stonesifer, the buyouts are being provided in the aim of “averting more difficult actions such as layoffs.”
BuzzFeed said in April that it would close its journalism division and lay off 180 staff, with its HuffPost business serving as the company’s principal news outlet.
Other than that, Vice Media declared bankruptcy in May, and the web publisher was sold to a group led by Fortress Investment Group for $350 million in June.
