Associated Press to Cut 8% of Staff Through Buyouts, Layoffs to ‘Accelerate’ Digital News Strategy

The Associated Press is making cutbacks in staff as the not-for-profit news organization seeks to “accelerate” its digital-first focus, according to Daisy Veerasingham, the AP’s president and CEO.

The AP will reduce its workforce by 8% through a combination of voluntary buyout offers and layoffs, Veerasingham wrote in a memo to staff Monday, a copy of which was obtained by Variety. 

The reductions are necessary as the AP “must evolve to align with changing customer and market needs,” she wrote. “We all know this is a time of transformation in the media sector. 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. Doing so will require making some difficult changes so we can invest more fully in our future.”

Related Stories

VIP+

Consumer Awareness of Celebrity Deepfakes: Survey Data

After 'Woman of the Hour' Directing Success, Anna Kendrick Is Hearing From Filmmakers Who Didn't Cast Her When She Auditioned for Them Years Ago

The AP’s digital-first journalism was “crucial” in its coverage of the 2024 U.S. elections, “where the usage of our live video, data, outstanding visuals and engaging interactives was unprecedented,” Veerasingham added.

The AP News Guild, which is affiliated with the NewsGuild, a sector of the Communication Workers of America, told members in an email Monday that the news org had identified 121 union employees (aged 54 1/2 or older) who are eligible for a voluntary buyout offer.

The news org will offer a voluntary separation plan to “a small number of eligible staff, based on department, role and length of employment” in the U.S. through a tentative agreement with the AP News Guild, according to Veerasingham. The agreement is subject to union ratification.

In addition to the buyout offers, “as we modernize our products and operations, we will eliminate some positions across the organization,” Veerasingham told staffers. Less than half of the 8% workforce reductions will affect the news division, she wrote. The bulk of the cuts will be in the U.S., but the AP remains “committed to our 50-state footprint,” according to Veerasingham.

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

Founded in 1846, the AP says 4 billion people worldwide “see AP journalism every day.” The org says it employs journalists in nearly 100 countries and in all 50 U.S. states.

“As a not-for-profit news organization, AP has been independent and free from influence for nearly two centuries,” Veerasingham wrote in the memo. “We have persevered not by chance, but by being intentional about adapting to industry changes.”

Veerasingham, who previously was the org’s EVP and COO, assumed the role of AP’s president and CEO Jan. 1, 2022. She succeeded retiring president and CEO Gary Pruitt to become the 14th leader of the AP in history.