Media Layoffs Are Piling Up - ProJo Parent Company Pushes to “Automation”

Media Layoffs Are Piling Up - ProJo Parent Company Pushes to “Automation”

 

The job slashing in America’s newsrooms is continuing — and more are likely to hit the Rhode Island market.

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Gannett Co. Inc., the parent company of the Providence Journal, is offering employees voluntary buyout packages.

The Providence Journal’s weekday print circulation has plummeted to 16,000 per day.

“Given our static revenue trends, we need to adjust our organization to effectively meet the needs of our business today and position ourselves for sustainable growth in the future as we continue to use AI and leverage automation to realize efficiencies,” longtime Gannett CEO Mike Reed said in a memo to staff on Thursday.

“And saying Gannett’s revenue has been 'static' in recent years is charitable; the company’s annual sales decreased from $3.21 billion in 2021 to $2.51 billion in 2024, with revenue dropping each year along the way,” wrote The Wrap.

“This is a moment to tap into AI-driven automation across our workflows and back office processes, which is expected to unlock an additional layer of operational efficiency,” Gannett's chief financial officer, Trisha Gosser, said during an earnings call last Thursday.

The company plans $100 million in cuts and increases to subscription prices. "To support our long-term growth objectives, we are implementing targeted annualized expense reductions of approximately $100 million that we anticipate will create a lower and more variable cost structure," said Reed.

 

The Cuts Across the Country

In 2025, media layoffs have accelerated, affecting major news organizations, entertainment outlets, and digital publishers across the U.S. and internationally. Key recent layoffs include:

-Ziff Davis (July 2025): Laid off 23 people, largely from tech news site CNET, with cuts also at Lifehacker, Mashable, and ZDNet.

-Digital Frontier (July 2025): Shut down publishing operations, cutting all 16 staff.

- Portland Tribune (June 2025): At least six laid off, with closure of print editions and two sister papers.

- The Chicago Tribune has laid off roughly 10% of the newsroom staff -- in what the union calls “a failure of leadership by Alden Global Capital, our hedge fund owner, and local management.”  The layoffs included reporters who covered housing, food, and the Bears.  Three non-union editors were also cut - reported by Media Post News

- TechCrunch (June 2025): Around 10 staff let go after new owner acquisition.

- Los Angeles Times (May 2025): Laid off 14 journalists, following earlier buyouts and prior cuts, halving newsroom ranks in three years.

- Forbes: The business news publisher Forbes announced layoffs two weeks ago, which will affect roughly 5% of its total workforce. In a note shared with staff internally, the newly appointed chief executive, Sherry Phillips, blamed financial underperformance for the cuts.“Unfortunately, as most of you know, we didn’t meet our financial goals in 2024,” Phillips wrote as reported by Adweek. “As a result, we are reprioritizing resources and reorganizing some areas to further increase efficiency and laser focus on the core strength of our brand. We’ve made the difficult decision to eliminate some roles across the business, which comprise less than 5% of our workforce.”

- Polygon (May 2025): 20+ laid off as the site was sold by Vox Media.

- CNN (January 2025): Announced 200 job cuts (6% of its workforce) focused on TV, with simultaneous hiring for digital roles.

- MSNBC (February 2025): Planned layoffs of 99 union members, affecting at least nine shows.

- NBC News (January 2025): About 40 employees laid off across several departments.

- New York Public Radio (February 2025): Cut 21 full-time roles (7% of staff).

- Daily Mail Group (January 2025): Up to 99 job cuts to support digital transition.

- Disney/ABC News Group (March 2025): Preparing to lay off about 6% of the workforce (approximately 200 employees), with significant restructuring including program consolidations and closing the 538 news site.

- E.W. Scripps (March 2025): Layoffs at local TV stations across the U.S. (exact numbers undisclosed).

- Wall Street Journal (March 2025): Another round of job cuts as part of newsroom restructuring.

- State and federal funding cuts have led to a layoff by American Public Media Group (APMG). An estimated five to eight percent of the staff will be affected in the weeks to come, but it was not clear at deadline exactly how many of the 500 employees would lose their jobs, MPR (Minnesota Public Radio) News reported. 

 

This continues a multi-year trend: more than 21,400 media jobs were cut in 2023 (the highest since 2009, excluding 2020 pandemic layoffs) and over 15,000 in 2024, with 2025 showing no sign of reversal