Washington Submit Proclaims MASSIVE Lay-Offs
The saying goes “Go woke, go broke!”
The Washington Post, in a surprising announcement, has revealed it will make some massive layoffs.
In a private Zoom meeting with employees, executives announced they will begin laying off 1/3 of their employees.
CNN had further details to report on the news of the Washington Post making major cuts and why:
The Washington Post is announcing mass layoffs Wednesday morning, dealing another big blow to a storied media company and a newsroom that has reached a breaking point.
Executive Editor Matt Murray and human resources chief Wayne Connell sent an email to staffers Wednesday morning instructing employees to “stay home today” but attend an 8:30 a.m. ET meeting via Zoom during which the Washington Post’s leadership will announce “significant actions across the company.”
Those actions include shutting down almost the entire Sports section, closing the Books section and cancelling the daily Post Reports podcast, sources at the newspaper said.
One of the most severe cuts comes in the form of a “restructuring” of the Post’s Metro desk, which covers D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
The Post’s international coverage will also be markedly reduced, though some bureaus outside the US will remain open.
In total, the cuts account for one-third of the newspaper’s overall staff, a source familiar with the matter said.
Widespread layoffs at the Post have been expected for several weeks, especially after leadership told staff in an internal memo that they no longer planned to send any reporters to the Winter Olympics this month — a decision that was ultimately reversed.
The Post’s publisher, Will Lewis, has spoken privately about finding a path to profitability for the Post by focusing the paper’s investment on politics and a few other key areas, while cutting back in areas like sports and foreign affairs.
Here’s how users on X reacted to the news:
The Washington Post just fired 1/3 of their entire staff. pic.twitter.com/koDoiB8J2q
— TheQuartering (@TheQuartering) February 4, 2026
🚨🚨🚨BREAKING:
The Washington Post to lay off over 300+ staff today.
Everyone has been asked to stay home and login to a zoom webinar.
They can no longer compete after 𝕏 became the #1 news source in over 140 countries.
“We are the media now.”
— Kekius Maximus pic.twitter.com/ffBNLliSo2— Wall Street Mav (@WallStreetMav) February 4, 2026
Last month, an employee of the Washington Post was raided by the FBI.
The Guardian reported more on teh raid:
The FBI raided the home of a Washington Post reporter early on Wednesday in what the newspaper called a “highly unusual and aggressive” move by law enforcement, and press freedom groups condemned as a “tremendous intrusion” by the Trump administration.
Agents descended on the Virginia home of Hannah Natanson as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified government materials.
An email sent on Wednesday afternoon to Post staff from the executive editor, Matt Murray, obtained by the Guardian, said agents turned up “unannounced”, searched her home and seized electronic devices.
“This extraordinary, aggressive action is deeply concerning and raises profound questions and concern around the constitutional protections for our work,” the email said.
“The Washington Post has a long history of zealous support for robust press freedoms. The entire institution stands by those freedoms and our work.”
“It’s a clear and appalling sign that this administration will set no limits on its acts of aggression against an independent press,” Marty Baron, the Post’s former executive editor, told the Guardian.
Murray said neither the newspaper nor Natanson were told they were the target of a justice department investigation.
Pam Bondi, the attorney general, said in a post on X that the raid was conducted by the justice department and FBI at the request of the Pentagon.
The warrant, she said, was executed “at the home of a Washington Post journalist who was obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor. The leaker is currently behind bars.”