After a rocky year for leftwing media, 2025 is picking up right where 2024 left off. Vox, The Washington Post and the HuffPost have all announced mass layoffs to start the year.
WaPo kicked off the cull, as former CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy reported Sunday that the paper was planning to lay off “dozens.” The New York Times confirmed the news Tuesday, writing that WaPo had kicked off a round of cuts that were set to affect four percent of the company’s staff, largely in the business division.
The cuts, NYT reported, will not affect the newsroom, which saw a New Years slaughter in 2023 after the paper cut or elected not to fill 50 positions in January, then eliminated 240 more jobs in October 2023.
Following the WaPo news, HuffPo’s editor in chief, Danielle C. Belton, told staff they would be laying off 30 editorial positions in an internal memo obtained by NYT.
“HuffPost is undergoing a substantial round of job eliminations due to ongoing and growing challenges to our business. Unfortunately, we expect upwards of 30 editorial positions will be cut in the weeks ahead,” Belton wrote.
news: HuffPost is cutting 30 positions. Memo from editor-in-chief Danielle C. Belton: pic.twitter.com/RD5BJGQKc3
— Ben Mullin (@BenMullin) January 7, 2025
Days later, Belton herself told the staff she would be departing too, according to another internal memo obtained by Semafor’s Max Tani.
“I’m writing to say that I too will be leaving HuffPost. My last day will be Friday, January 31st. This decision was difficult, yet obvious for me. HuffPost leadership made no decision to cut staff lightly, and in hopes of saving some roles, I knew I would face eliminating my own,” she wrote.
“I could not, in good faith, ask others to make this difficult decision without doing the same.”
Belton’s note to staff: “In hopes of saving some roles, I knew I would face eliminating my own.” pic.twitter.com/6eE2s2Hcxd
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) January 9, 2025
“I’m incredibly proud of the relaunch of HuffPost Voices and the many diverse stories we’ve highlighted during my tenure. HuffPost’s ability to cover politics, world events, pop culture, and lifestyle trends with passion and commitment is a gift to readers everywhere. I’ve been honored to bring a focus on diversity to our newsroom,” Belton wrote. She will depart at the end of January, she wrote to her staff.
Vox Media (which has “Why Does Trump Hate This Tiny Fish So Much?” as its frontpage story at time of this article’s publication) also announced a round of layoffs Thursday.
Friday, Vox.com announced layoffs on several teams, “a difficult but necessary step as the industry evolves,” the company announced in a statement that Tani obtained.
“Going forward, Vox will focus resources where it is most competitive and distinctive, while creating a more collaborative structure across all platforms (text, podcast, video). Being more focused will help Vox to build a sustainable business for the long term, while maintaining its core editorial sensibility and continuing to serve the audience where they value Vox most,” the statement reads.
Statement from Vox Media on the layoffs at Vox dot com pic.twitter.com/gfY4OrhKFW
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) January 9, 2025
At least one employee took to Twitter to announce they were a victim of the cuts.
“I just got laid off from Vox along with 11 other talented and delightful people,” Keren Landman, who covered public health, consumer health, and health misinformation, according to her company bio, wrote.
“I’m leaving with a deep bench of sources and a million ideas. Editors assigning work on public health, misinfo, $/religion in healthcare, please reach out! Gonna go have cookies for lunch,” she concluded.
I just got laid off from @voxdotcom along with 11 other talented and delightful people. I’m leaving with a deep bench of sources and a million ideas.
Editors assigning work on public health, misinfo, $/religion in healthcare, please reach out! Gonna go have cookies for lunch
— Keren Landman (@landmanspeaking) January 9, 2025
The turnover is part of a larger trend in legacy and leftwing media. WaPo in particular has been putting out fires for months ever since executive editor Sally Buzbee stepped down in June. When the paper’s owner, Jeff Bezos, attempted to fill her role with a white man, many staffers revolted, prompting him to reveal the paper’s horrible recent performance.
WaPo lost half their subscriber base between 2020 and 2023 and over $77 million since 2023, Bezos and his new CEO, Will Lewis, told staffers.
WaPo is not the only news provider to fall on hard times as of late. MSNBC, which had its ratings plummet 53% after the November election, reportedly asked some of their most prominent anchors to renegotiate their contracts to take less money, former Daily Beast editor Lachlan Cartwright reported.
Hey @elonmusk I have the funniest idea ever!!! https://t.co/OEwz6S5ncs
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 22, 2024
Their struggles have prompted rumors of a fire sale, encouraging prominent Republicans like Donald Trump Jr. to joke that Elon Musk should buy it.
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