Washington Post sacks workers, shuts sports desk

Washington Post has commenced widespread layoffs affecting all departments in the newspaper firm.

Washington Post Executive Editor Matt Murray informed the staff of the cuts, which will cut across the international, editing, metro, and sports desks via Zoom
call on Wednesday, February 4, 2026.

“We will be closing the Sports department in its current form,” a sports columnist at the Post, Barry Svrluga, said, quoting Murray’s comments on the call.

The development comes just days after the more than 145-year-old newspaper scaled back its coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics amid mounting financial losses.

“For too long, we’ve operated with a structure that’s too rooted in the days when we were a quasi-monopoly local newspaper,” Murray said, adding that “we need a new way forward and a sounder foundation.”

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One Post reporter, speaking on condition of anonymity, called it a “bloodbath.”

The impacted journalists include Amazon beat reporter Caroline O’Donovan, Cairo Bureau Chief Claire Parker and the rest of the Post’s Middle East correspondents and editors, according to X posts from Donovan and Parker.

It said in a statement: “The Washington Post is taking a number of difficult but decisive actions today for our future, in what amounts to a significant restructuring across the company.

“These steps are designed to strengthen our footing and sharpen our focus on delivering the distinctive journalism that sets The Post apart and, most importantly, engages our customers.”

The Star