Gannett Joins CNN in Laying Off Staffers, The Recount to Shut Down as Industry Struggles with Revenue

Photo credit: Olivier Douliery, AFP via Getty Images.

Gannett, the country’s largest newspaper publisher, will lay off approximately six percent of its staffers as media outlets nationwide struggle financially.

The New York Times reported employees across the company’s vast network of papers were informed their jobs would be cut beginning Thursday:

Employees at Gannett’s newspapers, which include USA Today, The Indianapolis Star and The Detroit Free Press, began receiving layoff notifications Thursday, part of an effort to cut about 6 percent of the company’s roughly 3,440-person U.S. media division.

Word of the notifications spread quickly among Gannett employees. At USA Today, journalists received invitations on their employee calendars to join meetings with editors and human resources representatives.

Weeks ago, employees were alerted of troubling “economic conditions” and asked to brace for cuts. Management said operating costs were too high relative to revenue. The news came hours after CNN laid off staffers companywide and essentially gutted HLN – where longtime morning show host Robin Meade was among those out of a job.

Also on Thursday, Axios reported The Recount intends to suspend operations on Friday of next week. According to the report, the outlet could not find its way to profitability after two rounds of layoffs this year. The site was founded in 2018 by John Battelle and John Heilemann with a mission focused on “reinventing video journalism” and “reshaping the news.”

The Washington Post will also publish its final print Sunday magazine this month as the paper eliminates positions.

According to the Los Angeles Times, other companies that are nixing positions or freezing hiring include CBS, AMC, Disney, and the streaming platform Roku. NPR, meanwhile, announced a hiring freeze as the outlet looks to cut $10 million from its budget this fiscal year.

Jeremy Barr and Elahe Izadi for the Post reported newsrooms across the country are preparing themselves for a “dark winter.”

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