Washington, D.C.— The Washington Post has announced one of the most sweeping workforce reductions in its nearly 150-year history, laying off roughly one-third of its 800-person newsroom. Among those let go is Ishaan Tharoor, senior international affairs columnist and son of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who had spent nearly 12 years at the publication.
The restructuring marks a dramatic shift for the storied institution as it grapples with declining digital traffic and mounting financial pressures.
Key Facts
• Over 300 journalists were laid off across editorial and business divisions, with Executive Editor Matt Murray announcing the cuts during a Wednesday morning Zoom call
• The Post lost an estimated $100 million in 2024 and experienced a 58 percent decline in organic search traffic over three years
• Entire sections eliminated include sports, books, and Post Reports podcast, while foreign bureaus in Cairo, New Delhi, Beijing, Sydney, and across the Middle East were shuttered
Executive Editor Matt Murray cited artificial intelligence and declining search platform relevance as key drivers.
The cuts extend far beyond newsroom positions. Editing staff, business operations, and audio production teams all faced layoffs.
The entire Middle East team was eliminated, including the Cairo bureau chief, while correspondents covering China, Iran, and Turkey lost their jobs.
Ishaan Tharoor, who held a prominent position analyzing global affairs, expressed his heartbreak on social media.
His father, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, swiftly criticized the decision as bizarre and self-destructive. He noted that Ishaan's column had attracted over 500,000 subscribers on the internet, questioning the business logic behind the layoff.
Former Washington Post editor Martin Baron, who led the newsroom from 2013 to 2021, warned of dire consequences.
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The Washington Post Guild union countered management's claims about financial necessity.
the union stated, questioning whether Jeff Bezos remained committed to the publication's core mission.
Layoffs across American media have accelerated dramatically. According to the Challenger, Gray & Christmas outplacement firm, US employers announced over 1.
2 million job cuts in 2025—a 58 percent jump from 2024 and the highest level since the 2020 pandemic.
— Martin Baron, former Executive Editor, The Washington Post
The restructuring represents a critical moment for American journalism. As legacy newsrooms continue to shrink and digital business models remain elusive, the quality and breadth of news coverage—especially international reporting—faces unprecedented challenges.
Readers and journalists alike are watching to see whether other major outlets will follow suit.
Do You Know?
The Washington Post's traffic declined from 1. 36 billion unique visits in 2023 to 1 billion.
15 billion in 2025—a loss of roughly 210 million visits in just two years, according to Comscore media analytics data cited by CBS News.
Key Terms
• Organic Search: Traffic that arrives at a website from search engines like Google when users find a link naturally, without paid advertising
• Legacy Media: Established news organizations like newspapers and broadcast networks that existed before the digital age and have struggled to adapt
• Digital Traffic: The number of visitors and page views a news website receives, crucial for measuring reader engagement and advertising revenue
• Workforce Reduction: A planned decrease in the number of employees, typically driven by cost-cutting measures or business restructuring
• Foreign Bureau: An international news office maintained by a publication to report on events in specific countries or regions