The Associated Press laid off 20 U.S.-based journalists on Friday as part of a reorganization announced last month that will shift the news organization’s focus from print journalism to visual journalism and other revenue streams, the union representing the Associated Press said.
“This is part of the restructuring we announced last month to align our business with what our top customers are demanding from us today,” AP spokesman Patrick Maks said in an email.
“Parting ways with valued colleagues is never easy — we thank them for their contributions to The Associated Press and wish them the best,” wrote Marks, the news outlet’s director of media relations and corporate communications.
The AP declined to give specific figures, but the News Media Association, the union representing AP journalists, said 20 of its staff members had been laid off. The layoffs were completed at the end of the work day on Friday.
The layoffs were expected and come about a month after The Associated Press, one of the world’s oldest and most influential news organizations, offered buyouts to more than 120 U.S.-based journalists. About 40 people subsequently volunteered and were accepted, according to the association.
Tony Winton, the union administrator, said the union received an email from AP human resources officials around 10 a.m. Friday saying the company was planning to implement layoffs and that Friday would be the last day of work. He said no other information was provided.
“Today’s layoffs demonstrate how directionless AP’s leadership has become,” Kimberlee Kruesi, an AP reporter and the association’s acting president, said in a statement. “The company claims to prioritize visual journalism, but among the 20 employees laid off today were veteran photographers.”
AP executive editor and senior vice president Julie Pace said in an interview last month that the AP’s goal is to reduce its global staff to less than 5%. The company did not disclose how many journalists it employs.
Pace said at the time that the AP was “not in trouble.”
“We are making these changes from a position of strength, but we are doing it now in recognition of our changing customer base,” she said.
AP’s revenue from newspapers has dropped 25% over the past four years. Gannett and McClatchy, the two largest traditional newspaper publishers, abandoned AP in 2024.
AP’s current clients are primarily broadcast, digital and technology companies. Kristin Heitmann, senior vice president and chief revenue officer, said last month that the company’s revenue from technology companies grew 200% during the same period.