EL SEGUNDO, CA - APRIL 17: The Los Angeles Times building and newsroom along Imperial Highway on Friday, April 17, 2020 in El Segundo, CA. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Los Angeles, California – The Los Angeles Times has been hit by yet another round of layoffs, marking the latest setback for the embattled newspaper as it continues to hemorrhage money and talent. On Friday, roughly a dozen staffers were let go, according to reports, including a confirmation from the Los Angeles Times Guild, which said 14 union members had received layoff notices — approximately 6% of the remaining newsroom.
“We are devastated,” the Guild said in a statement. “The Los Angeles Times is becoming a shadow of its former self.”
The cuts come at a moment of profound uncertainty for the 144-year-old publication, which has struggled to find its footing under billionaire owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong. The biotech entrepreneur and Los Angeles Lakers part-owner purchased the LA Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2018 for $500 million, vowing to revitalize the historic paper. But since then, the Times has never turned a profit — and its newsroom has steadily shrunk.
The most recent layoffs follow a turbulent 15-month stretch. In January 2024, over 100 employees were let go in one of the largest single reductions in the paper’s history. That move, which eliminated about a quarter of the Guild’s members, preceded the departure of executive editor Kevin Merida, who reportedly clashed with Soon-Shiong over editorial independence and the newsroom’s future.
The fallout continued into the fall, when Soon-Shiong intervened directly in the paper’s opinion section, announcing that the LA Times would not endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election. The decision triggered the resignation of editor Mariel Garza and, ultimately, the collapse of the entire editorial board — leaving only Soon-Shiong and executive editor Terry Tang, both on the board by default. What remains of the opinion section is now populated by freelance contributors and a controversial new “Insights” AI tool that assigns political leanings to opinion pieces and auto-generates counterpoints. The tool sparked backlash after its debut counterpoint appeared to defend the Ku Klux Klan in response to a column by writer Gustavo Arellano.
The paper’s financial picture has only worsened. In 2023, the Wall Street Journal reported a $30 million loss. This year, Adweek revealed that the Times lost $50 million and saw a 10% drop in subscribers, partly due to fallout from the editorial upheaval. Key advertisers like Netflix have also scaled back their support.
With the newsroom dwindling and morale low, calls are mounting for change at the top. “We urge the ownership to install a publisher from outside the organization to right the ship,” the Guild said Friday.
Whether that happens — or whether the paper will be sold — remains to be seen. But Friday’s layoffs are another grim chapter in the LA Times’ long and troubled decline.
