The journalism industry in the UK and US has experienced a wave of layoffs and newsroom closures throughout 2025, with dozens of major publishers announcing cutbacks affecting both editorial and business staff. Economic uncertainty, changes in referral traffic—especially from Google—and rapidly evolving media consumption habits have all played pivotal roles in driving these reductions. Notable companies implementing cuts include Business Insider, ITV, Press Association, MSNBC, CNN, BBC, the Washington Post, and the Daily Mail, among many others. Titles that have ceased operations entirely include Houston Landing, South London Press, and regional outlets like the Portland Tribune, which has also ended its print edition after 24 years.
In July 2025, Future Plc abruptly shut down Laptop Mag, affecting fewer than ten staff, and Carpenter Media closed the Portland Tribune´s print operation, laying off its newsroom. June saw approximately ten jobs lost at Techcrunch as it exited UK and European coverage, and the end of four McClatchy women´s magazine titles. In May, Business Insider cut 21% of its global workforce (about 150 jobs), with 23 layoffs in its London bureau alone, citing reliance on volatile digital traffic and intent to refocus on unique, high-value verticals, including investments in Artificial Intelligence-driven products. ITV planned over 220 redundancies as part of a restructuring toward streaming, and other significant impacts were recorded at outlets such as GBH, LAist, Polygon, and the Los Angeles Times, which has undergone its third round of cuts in three years.
Layoffs have reverberated across public and commercial broadcasters, digital-first publishers, specialist titles, and multinational conglomerates alike. Press Association/PA Media, the UK´s largest news agency, has aimed to reduce its editorial headcount by about 8%, and broadcasters like NBCUniversal, GBH, and Sky Sports News have also thinned their ranks. The overall trend reflects deep, structural changes in news media: publishers are merging print and digital operations, consolidating teams, pivoting toward audience-centric content strategies, and in many cases, seeking new revenue streams beyond traditional advertising. The rise of Artificial Intelligence products and search dependency has put additional pressure on legacy business models.
According to Press Gazette´s analysis, some 4,000 journalism jobs were lost in the UK and US in 2024—a figure that follows an even higher toll of 8,000 positions cut in 2023. As news organizations continue to adapt to audience fragmentation and the realities of digital monetization, the landscape in 2025 is marked by constant flux, with innovation and rationalization often occurring alongside painful staff reductions. Regular updates to this tally highlight an industry locking in for continued transformation, with both resilience and risk on display at every level.
