Associated Press to retrench staff as revenue declines
Associated Press has announced its plans to cut its workforce by eight per cent through layoffs and voluntary buyouts.
On Monday, the plan was conveyed in a memo to staff members by its CEO, Daisy Veerasingham.
Ms Veerasingham said the decision was part of a move to modernise the organisation and accelerate its digital transformation efforts.
“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,” the memo stated.
Ms Veerasingham stressed that the restructuring will primarily affect less than half of the company’s news division.
AP’s decision comes when several other mainstream media organisations are downsizing, given the declining advertising revenue and sluggish subscription growth.
Due to financial difficulties, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and CNN have also recently reduced their workforce.
According to the Times, the Associated Press is “under financial pressure” after a number of news outlets stopped patronising its news reports this year.
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