Associated Press to Cut Staff by 8%

The Associated Press said Monday it was cutting its staff by 8 percent as part of a plan to adapt to fast-changing conditions in the media industry. The news organization said the cuts, which would be done through buyouts, were part of a plan to meet “the evolving needs of our customers.” The cuts will affect both news and business employees. “This is about ensuring AP’s important role as the only truly independent news organization at scale during a period of transformation in the media industry,” The Associated Press said. In a note to employees Monday, the AP News Guild said that the cuts were the result of revenue declines and would affect the organization’s global bureaus and administrative staff. The note said that as many as 121 employees would be eligible for a buyout package, adding that managers said the buyouts aimed to avoid layoffs. The Associated Press — a news cooperative that licenses its content to member organizations — has come under financial pressure over the last year as some news organizations have abandoned the service. Gannett, the publisher of USA Today and the largest newspaper company in the United States, announced in March it would stop using reports provided by The Associated Press. McClatchy, the newspaper chain that owns The Sacramento Bee and the Kansas City Star, followed soon after. Still, The A.P. is among a dwindling number of news organizations that cover the entire globe. Periodic belt-tightening has stretched the ranks of international correspondents ever thinner over the years, even as crackdowns in press freedoms have made foreign reporting more hazardous. The cuts come two weeks after Election Day, when The Associated Press played a key role by calling races across the United States. The wire service temporarily increased its staff for the election, bring aboard thousands of contractors to cover the results. Like other traditional news organizations, The Associated Press has turned to philanthropy to shore up eroding finances. The news cooperative said in June that it was setting up a nonprofit to raise money for statewide and local funding. The A.P. was also among the first news organizations to strike a deal with Open AI to license its news content to the artificial intelligence giant. Daisy Veerasingham, the chief executive of The A.P., said in a statement that employees eligible for the buyouts would be notified by the end of the day, adding that fewer than half the cuts would be coming from the news division. “I know this is difficult news, and there will be a period of uncertainty as we work through these changes,” Ms. Veerasingham wrote. Benjamin Mullin reports on the major companies behind news and entertainment. Contact him securely on Signal at +1 530-961-3223 or at benjamin.mullin@nytimes.com. More about Benjamin Mullin Inside the Media Industry — Scientific American: The magazine’s editor in chief resigned after she posted comments on social media that called some supporters of President-elect Donald Trump “bigoted” and “fascists.” — The Onion: The satirical publication said that it had won a bankruptcy auction to acquire Infowars, a website founded by the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. — ‘Today’: Craig Melvin, the veteran NBC News host, will succeed Hoda Kotb as an anchor of the network’s flagship morning show. — Niche Streamers: The streaming wars didn’t kill smaller streaming services like Hallmark+ and BritBox. In fact, they’re thriving. — Dynamo: Nicholas Carlson, the former top editor of Business Insider, is starting a new company that will focus on video. Just don’t call it a “pivot to video.”