The Associated Press (AP) announced on Monday (November 18th) its plan to reduce approximately 8% of its staff through layoffs and voluntary buyouts as part of cost-cutting measures and a move towards digital transformation.
Chief Executive Officer of AP, Daisy Veerasingham, stated in a notice to employees on Monday that the company will offer voluntary buyout packages to a “small number of eligible employees” based on department, role, and tenure.
Employees eligible for buyouts should receive notification by the end of Monday, with the package including severance pay and partial health insurance assistance for 18 months. Those whose positions are being cut will be informed of outcomes in the coming weeks.
AP, once considered the world’s largest news gathering organization, no longer makes this claim and has not disclosed its total number of employees. Therefore, as of Monday, it is not yet certain how many people will be affected. AP noted that of the planned layoffs, less than half will involve the news division, primarily focusing on operations within the United States.
Veerasingham also mentioned that AP has reached a preliminary agreement with the News Media Guild to extend buyouts to some of the unionized members in the U.S.
The News Media Guild stated that 121 of its members will be offered buyout packages. While AP did not provide specific numbers, they indicated that the number of union members affected by layoffs would be lower than 121.
Citing a statement released by AP on Monday, The Hill reported that the layoffs were deemed necessary as part of broader efforts to “adapt to industry changes.”
The statement read, “We are taking proactive steps, including reducing some staff, because we are focused on meeting the evolving needs of our customers in order to maintain what the AP needs as a truly independent, scaled news organization during this transformation of the media industry.”
Veerasingham stated, “We all understand that this is a time of transformation in the media industry.”
AP is one of several media companies forced to downsize amid economic challenges in the media business sector.
Earlier this year, the largest newspaper publishers in the U.S., Gannett and McClatchy, announced they would stop procuring news from AP, with Gannett ending a partnership spanning over a century.
In recent years, AP has diversified its revenue sources, including accepting charitable donations, but still faces the impact of the overall crisis in the news industry.