EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — A few days after Los Angeles Times staff walked out for a one-day strike in front of LA City Hall over job cut threats, the newspaper announced Tuesday that it was laying off at least 115 people — or more than 20% of the newsroom.

The paper’s owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, told the Times that the cuts were necessary because the paper could no longer lose $30 million to $40 million a year without making progress toward building higher readership that would bring in advertising and subscriptions to sustain the organization.

“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. We are committed to doing so,” Soon-Shiong said.

Those being laid off include LA Times Guild members and managers. 

Matt Pearce, the president of Media Guild of the West which oversees the LA Times Guild and other western subsidiaries of Newsguild-CWA, said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that 94 members of the LA Times Guild are included in the layoff — that’s close to 25% of the union’s membership.

 

 

The layoffs mark the third round of cuts since June, when more than 70 positions, or about 13% of the newsroom, were trimmed.