The Los Angeles Times announced the layoff of 112 newsroom employees, one-fourth of its newsroom staff, marking a historic moment for the 143-year-old institution.The Times Guild, representing the journalists, revealed that 94 were gilded journalists and termed it a "dark day," emphasizing the heavy impact these layoffs would have across the newsroom.
Earlier in the month, Executive Editor Kevin Merida's abrupt departure further underscored the ongoing upheaval within the organization.
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire owner of The Los Angeles Times, said to The New York Times that yearly losses amounted to between $30 million and $40 million.
Latino Journalists were particularly affected
The impact of these layoffs extends beyond numbers. Sources within the LA Times revealed to the Latin Times that the De Los section, dedicated to the burgeoning Latino community of Los Angeles, faced a staggering reduction, losing 75% of its staff.
Los Angeles Times en Español, which served as a crucial platform for Spanish-speaking Angelenos, faced the dismissal of its editor. The remaining staff of both the Spanish edition and De Los falls under the leadership of Fidel Martínez. This consolidation raises questions about the future representation and voice of the Latino community in mainstream media, particularly in a city where they play an integral and dynamic role.
LATimes confirms 115 journalists laid off, or about 23 percent; newsroom will be at approx 385.
— David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik) January 23, 2024
NOTE: Taken in combination with last year's layoffs, the Los Angeles Times has laid off about one third of its newsroom in less than a year.
According to the 2022 Census numbers, the Latino population in Los Angeles is 4.9 million strong, representing 49% of the total
The entertainment, opinion and business desks, the Washington bureau and the "Fast Break" desk, which covers breaking news, were also drastically reduced.
"I've been laid off from my job as a columnist for the LA Times today, with 100 of my best colleagues. It's a dark day. I was the only Latina columnist for the opinion desk. Trump is looming & I'm author of Hatemonger," wrote journalist Jean Guerrero in Twitter.
I’ve been laid off from my job as a columnist for the LA Times today, with 100 of my best colleagues. It’s a dark day. I was the only Latina columnist for the opinion desk. Trump is looming & I’m author of Hatemonger. If you're hiring, I’m at jeangue619@gmail.com
— Jean Guerrero (@jeanguerre) January 23, 2024
Update:
— Arit John (@aritbenie) January 23, 2024
Politics - gutted
DC - gutted
2024 team - gutted
Latino culture team - gutted
Breaking news desk - gutted
Business - gutted
Tech - gutted
Music - gutted
404 (innovative TikTok team) - gutted
Lifestyle - gutted
Food - gutted
National - gutted
Columnist - gutted
A trembling media environment
The last year has been marked by unprecedented turbulence in the media and tech industries, a wave of layoffs has swept across some of the sector's most prominent companies, including Spotify, Google, Twitch, Pitchfork, Sports Illustrated, and Univision, among others.
Conde Nast could be next. Today, the day the Oscar nominations were announced, its journalists staged a 24-hour walkout.
Anne Hathaway walked out of a Vanity Fair photo shoot Tuesday morning in support of the Condé Nast Union walk out.
— Variety (@Variety) January 23, 2024
Hathaway was unaware of the work stoppage when she arrived at the New York photo shoot. She was still in hair and makeup when her team was notified by a staffer… pic.twitter.com/aQHKyWel3g
Spotify, the renowned music streaming giant, significant reduced its workforce, laying off in december 6% of its employees, or around 600 people. The layoffs were accompanied by a major reshuffle in the executive team, indicating a strategic pivot in the company's approach to the market.
Meanwhile, Alphabet, the parent company of Google, announced its largest-ever round of layoffs, slashing 12,000 jobs across the board. In a similar vein, Amazon-owned Twitch, a leading live streaming platform, let go 35% of its workforce, amounting to over 500 employees.
Most of Sports Illustrated's unionized staff were laid off last Friday after its parent company, the Arena Group, failed to make a $3.75 million quarterly payment to the group that it licenses Sports Illustrated's brand from.
Very sad news..
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) January 19, 2024
The entire staff of Sports Illustrated was notified on Friday that their jobs were being eliminated.
The future of the media business is quite bleak. https://t.co/qzB4vfb2dV pic.twitter.com/74PnZYQktu
Univision and Telemundo staff were also let go
In the realm of Hispanic media, Univision, a dominant force in the U.S. Spanish-speaking TV network, laid off around 200 employees across various departments last week. Telemundo had done the same in the fall.
These layoffs across major media and tech companies are part of a broader trend within the industry, which saw over 20,000 layoffs in 2023. This represents the highest number of layoffs since 2020, impacting various sectors including magazines, public radio, trade publications, and cable networks. Major news organizations like CNN, Gannett, The Washington Post, NBCUniversal, and ABC News have also faced significant layoffs.
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