The Washington Post joins ‘layoff drive’ after Jeff Bezos visit
2 min read . Updated: 25 Jan 2023, 01:18 PM IST
PremiumLayoff drive: It is expected that The Washington Post will sack 20 journalists and not fill 30 already vacant positions.
There have been more than 50,000 job cuts across the technology sector in the past month. Amazon, Microsoft, Google, 3M are some of the tech giants who reduced their workforce citing various reasons. However, the layoff drive could not stop within tech boundaries, it also entered the news organizations with The Washington Post to be the very first such company.
The Jeff Bezos-owned broadsheet has also begun firing employees on Tuesday, citing decline in advertising revenue and readership, according to The New York Post reports. The information about layoff came in a backdrop of Jeff Bezos' visit to the company headquarters.
It is expected that the company will sack 20 journalists and not fill 30 already vacant positions. This came weeks after publisher Fred Ryan announced the impending layoffs, while also assuring that the company's headcount will remain same or higher by the end of 2023, the news outlet said.
Jeff Bezos, who is also the founder of e-commerce platform Amazon, is likely to sell the American newspaper Washington Post to buy the football team Washington Commanders, The New York Post reported.
Bought in 2013 for USD 250 millios, Bezos is looking to clear the way to get the Commanders from embattled owner Dan Snyder.
The reports stated that Bezos is facing trouble because the struggling owner of the Commanders, Dan Snyder, is still angry about the illustrious newspaper's series of exposes exposing a poisonous management culture at the team, where bosses including Snyder are allegedly responsible for enabling sexual harassment.
The Washington Post is believed to be up for sale by one logical suitor, who intends to submit a proposal, according to a source with firsthand knowledge of the matter, news agency ANI reported.
However, the source declined to identify the suitor. A second newspaper buyer and seller claimed to have heard rumors that the publication might be for sale.
A spokesperson for Bezos said the Washington Post is not for sale. A spokesperson for the journal -- the owner of which, News Corp, also owns the New York Post, also stated the paper is not for sale.
(With inputs from agencies)