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Los Angeles Times to lay off 20% of its workforce

Published

2 years ago

2024/01/24

Priyan

The Los Angeles Times announced on Tuesday that it will be laying off around 20% of its newsroom due to financial struggles.

The newspaper said it will let go of at least 115 people – the largest layoff in its 142 year history.

The news follows other mass layoffs in the US media industry, including at outlets like Sports Illustrated and independent music publisher Pitchfork.

A reporter described it as a “dark day” for the LA Times.

In a report published on Tuesday, the newspaper’s owner said the layoffs were due to significant and unsustainable financial losses of $30m (£23.6m) to $40m per year. “Today’s decision is painful for all, but it is imperative that we act urgently and take steps to build a sustainable and thriving paper for the next generation,” said Patrick Soon-Shiong.

A memo sent to newsroom union members informed staff that 94 guild-covered positions were among those being terminated. That is a quarter of all guild members, according to the newspaper.

“It’s a dark day at the Los Angeles Times,” said Matt Pearce, a reporter at the newspaper and president of Media Guild of the West. “Many departments and clusters across the newsroom will be heavily hit.”

Senior editors were among those affected, including Washington bureau chief Kimbriell Kelly. Several award-winning photographers and the paper’s video unit also lost their jobs.

Patrick Soon-Shiong speaks during the annual Milken Institute Global Conference in California in 2015. — *Patrick Soon-Shiong bought the LA Times in 2018 (BBC)*

Mr Soon-Shiong had warned that layoffs were coming, prompting staff to stage a one-day walkout on Friday in protest. The walk-out was followed by the resignation of the newspaper’s managing editor Sara Yasin, who stepped-down on Monday citing “professional and personal decisions”.

The paper’s executive editor Kevin Merida also recently left.

In an interview with the LA Times, Mr Soon-Shiong blamed the newspaper’s past leadership for the financial challenges it faces today. The newspaper has fallen short of its digital subscriber goals and has struggled to generate sustainable advertising revenue, he said. “It is indeed difficult to reflect upon the recent tumultuous years, during which our business faced significant challenges, including losses that surpassed $100 million in operational and capital expenses,” he said.

But Mr Soon-Shiong said he still backs the company and believes in its future. He acquired ownership of the LA Times, its sister paper the San Diego Union-Tribune and a handful of other media properties in 2018 for $500m.

“We are not in turmoil. We have a real plan,” he said.

The layoffs come at a time of major disruption in the US news industry.

Last week, the union for Sports Illustrated said the publication planned to cut nearly all of it its unionised staff, after the publisher failed to pay its licensing fees to the magazine’s parent company.

And Conde Nast, the company behind storied titles like Vogue, The New Yorker and Vanity Fair, said last fall that it planned to lay off more than 300 employees. As part of the restructuring, Conde Nast said last week that its music journalism website Pitchfork will be folded into GQ Magazine and that all of its staff will be let go as a result.

The Washington Post, owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, recently offered voluntary buyouts to staff due to losses of around $100m in 2023.

(BBC)

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Related Topics:digital subscriber goals LA Times Los Angeles Media Patrick Soon-Shiong.The Los Angeles Times USA

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CEYPETCO Fuel prices increased from midnight today (21)

Published

2 hours ago

2026/03/21

Priyan

The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (Ceypetco) has announced a revision of fuel prices, effective from midnight today (21).

Accordingly,

Auto Diesel – Rs. 382 (increased by Rs. 79)

Super Diesel – Rs. 443 (increased by Rs. 90)

Petrol 92 Octane – Rs. 398 (increased by Rs. 81)

Kerosene – Rs. 255. (increased by Rs. 60)

Petrol 95 Octane – Rs. 455 (increased by Rs. 90)

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Advisory for Severe Lightning issued for Galle, Matara, Kaluthara and Rathnapura districts

Published

9 hours ago

2026/03/21

Priyan

Advisory for Severe Lightning Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre Issued at 12.30 p.m. 21 March 2026, valid for the period until 11.00 p.m. 21 March 2026

Thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur at some places in the Galle, Matara, Kaluthara and Rathnapura districts after 1.00 p.m.

There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers. General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:

The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:

 Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.

 Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.

 Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.

 Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.

 Beware of fallen trees and power lines.

 For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.

Latest News

Iranian strikes on bases used by US caused $800m in damage, new analysis shows

Published

20 hours ago

2026/03/21

Priyan

Damage to radar sites at Al Sader and Al Ruwais (UAE) [BBC]

Iranian strikes on military bases used by the US in the Middle East caused about $800m (£600m) in damage in the first two weeks of the war, a new analysis shows.

Much of the damage was caused in initial retaliatory strikes by Iran in the week after the US and Israel launched the war, according to a report by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) and an analysis by the BBC.

The full extent of the damage caused by Iranian strikes on US assets in the region is not clear.

But the $800m in estimated damages to US military infrastructure – a figure that’s higher than has been previously reported – offers a picture of the steep costs to the US as the conflict drags on.

“The damage to US bases in the region has been underreported,” said Mark Cancian, a CSIS senior adviser and co-author of the think tank study. “Although that appears to be extensive, the full amount won’t be known until more information is available.”

In response to a request for comment, the US Department of Defense referred the BBC to US Central Command, which is leading the war. Officials there declined to comment.

Iran’s retaliatory strikes targeted US air-defence and satellite-communication systems, among other assets, in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries across the Middle East.

A significant portion of damage was caused by a strike on a US radar for a Thaad missile defence system at an air base in Jordan.

The AN/TPY-2 radar system costs approximately $485m according to a CSIS review of defence department budget documents. The air-defence systems are used for the long-range interception of ballistic missiles.

Strikes by Iran caused an additional $310m in estimated damages to buildings, facilities and other infrastructure on US bases and military bases used by American forces in the region.

Iran also has struck at least three air bases more than once, according to an analysis of satellite imagery by BBC Verify. The repeat strikes underscore Iran’s efforts to target specific US assets. Russia has reportedly shared intelligence with Tehran on American military forces in the region.

Satellite imagery shows the three air bases – Ali Al-Salim base in Kuwait, Al-Udeid in Qatar and Prince Sultan in Saudi Arabia – with fresh damage appearing during different phases of the conflict.

The US has also lost 13 military service members since President Donald Trump joined Israel in launching the attacks on Iran on 28 February.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana) estimates the overall death toll has reached nearly 3,200, including 1,400 civilians.

Trump has said the US is on track to achieve his goals of destroying Iran’s nuclear program, degrading its conventional military power, and ending the regime’s support for proxy groups in the region.

“We’re doing extremely well in Iran,” Trump said at a White House event on Friday.

But the war has rattled the global economy with the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and uncertainty over the duration of the conflict and whether Trump will deploy ground troops.

Source: Planet Labs PBC, 2026 Satellite imagery of a US naval base in Bahrain

Analysis of satellite imagery has been hampered by restrictions imposed by major US-based providers on the release of the imagery.

But it is possible to discern certain patterns in Iran’s retaliatory action against US military interests in the region.

Radar and satellite systems have been a focus from the start, when Iranian strikes hit a US naval base in Bahrain. They function as the eyes and ears of modern military operations.

Satellite imagery most notably showed the destruction of two radomes – protective enclosures for such sensitive equipment. It is highly probable the systems themselves were damaged, although it is not possible to gauge the extent.

Radar sites were hit at Camp Arifjan, a US military facility in Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base, where US aircraft are located. Imagery of the latter shows smoke rising from a radar component for a Thaad air-defence system.

More extensive damage to Thaad systems is evident at US bases in the UAE and Jordan. It’s unclear what the cost of that damage was. The degradation of these systems reportedly led the US to redeploy Thaad components from South Korea to the Middle East.

The damage from Iran’s retaliatory strikes account for a fraction of the overall costs to the US for the war.

Defense Department officials reportedly briefed members of Congress that the first six days of the war cost $11.3bn. The first 12 days cost 16.5bn, according to CSIS.

The Pentagon is asking for another $200bn in funding for the war. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday that the figure “could move.”

“It takes money to kill bad guys,” Hegseth said.

[BBC]