Washington Post shed roughly half of its staffers in recent years

The Washington Post has become a much smaller news organization due to numerous layoffs and voluntary buyouts.

A total of 1,300 employees remain, Washington Post editor-in-chief Matt Murray told the newspaper’s employee town hall on Wednesday, a week after a brutal round of layoffs, according to former Post media reporter Jeremy Barr of The Guardian.

In October 2023, the Post reported that it employed “approximately 2,500 people across the company.”

WASHINGTON POST WAS BOMBARDED WITH ‘CAKE’ PARTIES FOR OUTGOING STAFF

The number of journalists in the Post newsroom has gotten worse. Murray said 400 people are staying in what he called a “well-stocked newsroom.” But in 2022, the Post newsroom reportedly has 1,000 journalists.

While Murray told employees he didn’t expect any more layoffs, he acknowledged he couldn’t be sure there wouldn’t be any.

The Washington Post did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

WASHINGTON POST’S EDITOR IN CHIEF SUPPORTED JEFF BEZOS, Critics Criticized ZORLU NEWSPAPER’S FIRINGS

Washington Post editor-in-chief Matt Murray held a town hall on Monday after the paper suffered brutal layoffs. (Washington Post via Robert Miller/Getty Images)

Last week, Murray broke the highly anticipated news that hundreds of Post employees would be laid off. Various departments such as Sports, Books and Metro were evacuated, as well as foreign correspondents and photojournalists.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Murray acknowledged that “morale has been an issue at the Post for a while.”

“The Post has been dealing with different types of issues for a number of years,” Murray said. “We want to be in a different era” [after] it is a painful exercise, and it is a period of collaboration, growth, innovation, and reinventing space for the future.”

WASHINGTON POST CEO QUITS AFTER REACTIONS FOLLOWING MASS DELAYS

The Washington Post gutted several departments, including its sports desk, as part of last week’s layoffs. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

On Saturday, Washington Post CEO and publisher Will Lewis abruptly resigned after a two-year tenure at the paper, prompting outrage after critics were spotted at a pre-Super Bowl event in San Francisco while criticizing his absence during the painful layoffs.

The Post announced that Jeff D’Onofrio, who joined the newspaper as chief financial officer in June 2025, will take over as acting CEO and publisher effective immediately.

Jeff Bezos, the paper’s billionaire owner, was also outraged, with critics accusing him of being uninterested in saving the paper he bought more than a decade ago.

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Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.