The Associated Press to cut under 5% of global news staff

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://www.reuters.com/business/associated-press-cut-under-5-global-news-staff-2026-04-06/

Associated Press trimming staff amid new focus on video, digital platforms

The Associated Press plans to cut dozens of jobs as it shifts focus from local journalism to national coverage and digital platforms.

thedesk.net

The Associated Press (AP) is planning to cut dozens of jobs as part of a broader restructuring of the company that shifts away from producing hyperlocal journalism in favor of national news coverage and emerging platforms like social video, according to a report published on Monday.

The report, from Axios, says the AP is dealing with sizable revenue cuts as local newspaper groups invest fewer dollars into the organization, which operates at a not-for-profit. Local newspaper revenue has dipped 25 percent over the past few years, and newspapers generate less than 10 percent of the organization’s overall revenue today, Axios noted.

Julie Pace, the Executive Editor at the AP, said the organization is profitable and its revenues are stable, but that audiences are getting their news from places other than newspapers — including digital platforms like websites and social media — which necessitates the reorganization.

The news outlet has also seen revenue climb from tech companies that license its wire stories and other materials to train large language models (LLMs), with the AP signing licensing deals with Google, ChatGPT developer OpenAI, Microsoft and Amazon over the past few years.

AP says it will offer buyouts as part of pivot away from newspaper journalism

The Associated Press says it will offer buyouts to an unspecified number of its U.S.-based journalists as part of an acceleration away from the focus on newspaper journalism that sustained the company for more than 1½ centuries.

apnews.com

This is expected given that the AP has shifted to getting donors as a non-profit. Yes the big one that accelerated the cuts was the number of newspapers cutting access for AP stories. But in this case its the AP adapting to the current business model and pivoting where the core demos are at. Had no idea AP was focusing on hyperlocal journalism prior to the cuts given that the AP front page and their notifications on my phone focuses on national news Yes I knew AP had content deals with AI services and search engines for sometime as part of those tech platforms needing to put a fact-checking part on their systems but yes AP is reallocating resources to where the core audience is at.

Pace said the AP’s goal is to reduce its global staff by less than 5%. The Marketing and Media Alliance estimated the AP had 3,700 staffers, but it was not clear when that estimate was made.

Since buyouts are being offered now to only U.S. journalists, it stands to reason that the cut among that workforce will be more than 5%. Whether there are layoffs depends on how many people take the offer, Pace said.
Reached on Monday, the News Media Guild, which represents AP journalists, had no immediate comment on the plan.

Over the past four years, the AP’s revenue from newspapers has declined by 25%. Gannett and McClatchy, two of the largest traditional newspaper publishers, dropped AP in 2024.

In recent days, the company learned that Lee Enterprises — publishers of newspapers like The Buffalo News, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Richmond Times-Dispatch — is seeking an early exit from a contract due to expire at the end of 2026.

Pace said the buyout plan was in the works before learning about Lee Enterprises. “We made a decision earlier this year that we needed to be bolder in this transformation,” she said.

​

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

Here is a lead up in one of the meetings when one of the AP management talked about AI in their operations. I get it that meeting had to happen one way or another for the AP to remain viable as a news outlet prior to making the cuts and resource reallocation at the organization.

Manager at Associated Press Tells Journalists That Resistance to AI Is Futile

"Resistance is futile" — famously a phrase said by the good guys.

www.yahoo.com

Exclusive: It’s bots vs. reporters at the AP

The tensions inside the wire service reveal a broader conflict playing out across the media over how AI should be applied within journalism.

www.semafor.com

AP Offers More Than 120 Staffers Buyouts as It Restructures Toward National, Visual-First Coverage

The Associated Press will offer buyouts to multiple staffers on its U.S. news team as it pivots toward digital and visual-led journalism focused more on national stories.

www.thewrap.com

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

AP To Cut U.S. Staff As It Shifts Focus To Video, National Coverage.

The Associated Press plans to cut dozens of U.S.-based staff positions as part of a broader restructuring that shifts its focus away from hyper-local print coverage and toward video and

www.insideradio.com

More details on the cuts at the AP.

Executive Editor Julie Pace and Global Chief Revenue Officer Kristin Heitmann tell Axios the changes reflect evolving audience demand and revenue sources. Founded in 1846 as a cooperative serving local newspapers, the organization now derives less than 10% of its revenue from U.S. newspaper groups, according to Heitmann.

Revenue from that segment has declined 25% in recent years, while revenue from technology companies has increased by roughly 200%, she said.


The restructuring will begin with a voluntary separation plan offered Monday to a select group of unionized employees. The organization will consider layoffs if it does not receive sufficient interest in buyouts. While the cuts are expected to primarily affect the U.S. news division, a smaller number of positions in other U.S.-based reporting teams may also be included.

 

[vchimpanzee]

The Charlotte Observer, and apparently all McClatchy papers, stopped using the Associated Press.

Last week I saw an announcement that Lee Newspapers is doing this too and changing to USA Today. I was reading Associated Press stories in those papers. One could argue I can go to the AP web site but I have to see the stories somewhere first.