There was an error in the original text stating that 240 individuals were either off or bought out of The Washington Post’s newsroom. The layoffs were merely buyouts and the cuts were company-wide, not limited to the newsroom. Additionally, Will Lewis’s role as executive editor of The Post was mentioned in the piece. He serves as both the chief executive and publisher. Also, Post spokeswoman Olivia Petersen’s last name was misspelled in the piece. A correction has been made to the article.
As part of what a Post representative referred to as a “refined product vision,” the Washington Post fired off 54 workers on Monday, or 25% of the workforce at Arc XP, the division responsible for developing and selling publishing software to other media firms.
Arc XP’s hundreds of global clients will benefit from AI-enhanced content development, personalized user experience, and superior analytics, according to spokesperson Olivia Petersen.
Presiden Matt Monahan of Arc XP informed staff of the layoffs via email, describing them as a “hard but necessary step” toward building a “more sustainable business.”
These layoffs follow a minor reorganization at The Post that included seven Arc XP employees around a year ago, while a reduction of 240 people from the company’s employment at The Post through buyouts occurred less than a year ago. Workers at Arc XP are not union members, unlike those at Post newspaper.
Post leadership has long recognized Arc XP as a potential development area for the company. The company was spun out in 2015 by Post owner Jeff Bezos to diversify the newspaper’s earnings.
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The Post’s then-chief technology officer Shailesh Prakash made the bold prediction in June 2022 that Arc XP “will be the biggest source of revenue for The Post, and certainly the most profitable source of revenue for The Post” in three or four years. Last year, however, the Wall Street Journal revealed that the division was losing money and would fall far short of its annual target of $200 million by the year 2027.
The Post has stated its continued dedication to Arc XP, a provider of services to over 2,500 international companies. Among these brands are Reuters, Chosun Ilbo of South Korea, and Le Parisien of France. Neither the profitability of Arc XP nor any discussion of revenue targets were addressed by Petersen.
Will Lewis, who was appointed by Bezos in late 2023 to turn The Post profitable, emailed newsroom employees to convey his support for the Arc XP restructuring proposal.
“State-of-the-art growth companies are now centered around creating customer-centric products that offer captivating experiences for individuals to savor,” Lewis penned.