Associated Press to Cut 8 Percent of Workforce

The Associated Press logo is shown at the entrance to the news organization's office in New York, on July 13, 2023. AP Photo/Aaron Jackson, File

The Associated Press (AP) has announced plans to reduce its workforce by around eight percent, citing the need to adapt to shifting customer demands and accelerate its transition to a digital-first news organization. The changes, which include voluntary buyouts and layoffs, were detailed in a Nov. 18 memo to staff from CEO Daisy Veerasingham.

In the memo, Veerasingham wrote that “difficult changes” are needed as the company seeks to adapt to an increasingly competitive and digitally-driven media environment. The cuts will predominantly affect U.S.-based operations, though less than half will come from AP’s news division.

“This is a time of transformation in the media sector,” Veerasingham wrote. “Our customers—both who they are and what they need from us—are changing rapidly. This is why we’ve focused on delivering a digital-first news report. We now need to accelerate on this path.”

As part of its digital pivot, AP plans to prioritize visual journalism, including video and interactive content, and launch a foundation aimed at addressing news deserts across the United States. The organization is also exploring new revenue streams to support its operations.

Veerasingham acknowledged the difficulty of the changes, noting that affected employees will receive layoff notices in the coming weeks. The News Media Guild, which represents many of AP’s unionized employees, said 121 of its members would be offered buyouts. However, AP expects the final number of union job cuts to be lower.

“I know this is difficult news, and there will be a period of uncertainty as we work through these changes,” Veerasingham told employees.

AP’s staff reductions are part of a wider trend of job cuts in U.S.-based companies across various sectors.

In the tech industry, companies like Microsoft, Google, and Meta have collectively laid of tens of thousands of employees in 2024, driven by restructuring efforts and shifts towards automation. According to Layoffs.fyi, over 130,000 tech jobs have been cut this year alone.

Factory hiring has seen a slowdown in recent months, as the U.S. manufacturing sector continues to face headwinds from subdued demand. Recent employment reports—one from payroll processor ADP and another from the Bureau of Labor Statistics—showed job cuts in U.S. factories in October.

Planemaking giant Boeing in October announced plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce amid ongoing challenges, while General Motors said last week it had eliminated around 1,000 salaried and hourly employees, citing the need for operational efficiency.

In the first 10 months of this year, over 664,000 job cuts have been announced, up 3.7 percent from the comparable period in 2023 and the highest year-to-date total since 2020, according to the latest report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas.