On 4 February, The Washington Post announced the firing of more than 300 employees, approximately one third of its staff. This followed weeks of uncertainty and rumours about widespread layoffs, during which time management remained silent. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) join the NewsGuild-CWA in condemning the mass cuts.
Post employees who have been laid off will continue to be on staff through 10 April, though they will not be required to work. They will receive six months of continued health insurance coverage. The affected employees include Caroline O’Donovan, who primarily covers Amazon, the company founded by the Post owner, Jeff Bezos.
“In just the last three years, The Post’s workforce has shrunk by roughly 400 people. Continuing to eliminate workers only stands to weaken the newspaper, drive away readers and undercut The Post’s mission: to hold power to account without fear or favor and provide critical information for communities across the region, country and world,” said The Post Guild, the union representing most Post employees, in a statement Wednesday morning.
“The Post Guild vehemently opposes any more staff reductions. Now is the time to stand in solidarity with our laid-off colleagues and with those who remain, who will now be asked to do more with less. There is still time to save The Post. (…) If Jeff Bezos is no longer willing to invest in the mission that has defined this paper for generations and serve the millions who depend on Post journalism, then The Post deserves a steward that will.”
Billionaire Jeff Bezos purchased the Post in 2013. Bezos also controls Amazon, which recently spent $35 million to promote a film about First Lady Melania Trump. Amazon’s production company then purchased the rights to “Melania” for $40 million, making it the most expensive documentary ever.
“It’s disgusting that one of the richest men in the world is more invested in purchasing favor with the president of the United States than in investing in journalists who are the watchdogs of democracy,” said NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss. “Bezos’ actions should alarm every American who cares about their rights in our country.”
“Management has framed these decisions as unavoidable, but they are the result of choices,” said Dan Gabor, president of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild. “Choosing to cut staff instead of recommitting to the people who produce The Post’s journalism is a failure of leadership and vision. A newspaper cannot claim to stand for accountability while repeatedly sacrificing the workers who uphold that principle.”
“Dozens of journalists have been informed by email that their jobs have been “eliminated”, including in Europe, particularly in the Post’s editorial offices in Kyiv and Berlin,” said EFJ President Maja Sever. “Bezos has captured the Editorial Board of the Washington Post and, with this new social bloodbath, is completing his ambition to turn the daily into a mouthpiece for pro-billionaire propaganda. This should serve as a warning to the leaders of the European Union, where the media sector is facing unprecedented capital concentration, at the risk of destroying media pluralism, a necessary condition for democracy.”
IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger added: “We are witnessing the dismantling of what used to be one of the most respected newspapers in the United States. Today we stand with journalists at the Post, following this devastating number of layoffs. There is no free press without journalists holding power to account.”
Source: EFJ
