McClatchy Cuts 90+ Journalists, Slashing Some Newsrooms by Up to 40%
Updated
Updated · Poynter · Sep 10
McClatchy Cuts 90+ Journalists, Slashing Some Newsrooms by Up to 40%
3 articles · Updated · Poynter · Sep 10
Summary
More than 90 journalists lost their jobs Thursday in McClatchy’s harshest cuts in years, with at least 13 papers in eight states hit and some newsrooms losing up to 40% of staff.
McClatchy told unions the layoffs were part of a companywide restructuring to shift resources toward subscriber-valued journalism and audience habits, framing the move as necessary for long-term sustainability and growth.
20 layoffs at the Miami Herald plus 10 vacant positions eliminated would leave fewer than 50 newsroom slots, down from roughly 300 in 2000; Fresno lost multiple accountability reporters and Charlotte its only data reporter.
Union leaders said the cuts gutted core local coverage and accused owner Chatham Asset Management of prioritizing short-term profits, while also pointing to McClatchy’s recent investment in AI tools as jobs disappeared.
Since Chatham acquired McClatchy out of 2020 bankruptcy, the publisher has shed staff and papers, closed its Washington bureau and sold two Georgia papers, making Thursday’s layoffs the deepest in more than seven years.