Washington Post starts massive layoff, gutting sports and foreign coverage: source

2026-02-04 - 15:36

The Washington Post informed its staff on Wednesday that it was starting a widespread layoff that would gut its sports department and shrink its international footprint, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. The job cuts were announced by Executive Editor Matt Murray on a call with employees, the source said, requesting anonymity as the matter was private. “We will be closing the sports department in its current form,” Murray said in a company-wide call that began at 6:30 pm PKT (8:30 am ET). The call transcript was shared with Reuters by the source. “All departments are impacted. Politics and government will remain our largest desk and will remain central to our engagement and subscriber growth.”