The Associated Press, one of the world’s oldest and most influential news organizations, laid off 20 U.S.-based journalists on Friday, completing a restructuring plan that seeks to reposition the wire service away from a shrinking newspaper market and toward visual journalism and technology-driven customers. The layoffs, which had been telegraphed when the company offered buyouts to more than 120 U.S. staffers last month, drew sharp criticism from the union representing AP journalists, which said the cuts included photographers even as the organization claims to be prioritizing visual journalism.
AP spokesman Patrick Maks said the layoffs were part of the restructuring announced in April to “align our operations with what our top customers need from us today.” He added, “It’s never easy to part ways with valued colleagues — we are appreciative of their contributions to the AP and wish them all the best.” The company declined to confirm the number of layoffs, but the News Media Guild said 20 guild-covered staffers were let go, and that the terminations had been completed by the end of the business day Friday. Guild administrator Tony Winton said the union received an email shortly before 10 a.m. Friday from AP human resources stating that layoffs would be implemented and that Friday was the employees’ last day.
Guild acting president Kimberlee Kruesi, an AP reporter, said in a statement, “Today’s cuts show just how directionless AP’s leadership has become. The company touts that it is prioritizing visual journalism, yet among the 20 employees sacked today are experienced photographers.”
The restructuring follows a voluntary buyout program announced in April that was offered to 121 U.S. journalists; about 40 accepted and were approved, according to the guild. AP Executive Editor and Senior Vice President Julie Pace said in an interview last month that the goal was to reduce the global workforce by less than 5 percent. The company does not publicly disclose its total number of journalists. Pace said the AP “is not in trouble” and that the changes were being made “from a position of strength, but we’re doing so now to recognize our changing customer base.”
The strategic pivot reflects a stark revenue realignment. Over the past four years, AP’s revenue from newspapers has declined by 25 percent, exacerbated by the loss of major print clients Gannett and McClatchy, which dropped the service in 2024. AP’s customer base is now dominated by broadcast, digital, and technology companies. Kristin Heitmann, senior vice president and chief revenue officer, said last month that the company had seen 200 percent revenue growth from technology companies over the same period.
The AP, a cooperative owned by its member newspapers and broadcasters, has been gradually shifting its output toward video, photography, and data-driven storytelling, services that appeal to television stations and online platforms more than to the print-centric packages that sustained the wire for decades. The layoffs bring the organizational restructuring to a close after weeks of uncertainty among staff.