Press Gazette’s tracker records hundreds of roles lost across UK and US newsrooms since September, with publishers blaming search traffic, advertising weakness, automation and funding pressures
Another Season Of Losses
The autumn has brought a fresh wave of job cuts across British and American newsrooms. Press Gazette’s rolling tracker of journalism job cuts in 2026 records significant reductions at national titles, regional groups, broadcasters and digital publishers since the start of September. The tracker recorded at least 3,434 journalism job cuts in 2025, at least 3,875 in 2024 and around 6,000 in 2023. This year is adding to that toll.
The Guardian’s Casual Workforce
The most striking recent change is at the Guardian. On October 6, it emerged that the paper is ending its use of casual staff, putting the work of up to 315 people at risk. According to Press Gazette, the 370 journalists who did casual work for the Guardian in the previous 14 months are to be replaced by 45 to 55 rota shortfall roles. Casual shifts have long been an important source of income and experience for freelance journalists, particularly early-career reporters and sub-editors. The change will be felt well beyond the Guardian’s own staff.
Metro, Reach And Channel 4
At Metro, around 61 redundancies were announced on October 9, with 90 staff told their roles were at risk. Reach, publisher of the Mirror, Express and dozens of regional titles, announced in mid-September that it would cut about 220 editorial jobs and create around 60, a net loss of roughly 160. Reach is also shifting its key performance measure away from page views toward engaged time, reflecting changing priorities in a market where search referrals are falling.
Broadcasting has not been spared. Channel 4 announced on September 9 that 340 jobs, about 28 percent of its workforce, would go by the end of the year. BBC Sport scrapped 41 roles and created five, a net loss of 36, as the corporation continues to cut costs in response to falling licence fee income.
American Cuts
In the United States, McClatchy cut more than 90 staff across at least 13 titles in September. Future, the magazine and digital publisher, cut at least seven roles in October, including the editorial team at Android Central, which it said would continue publishing. Popverse ended its editorial operations with at least five jobs lost. Smaller reductions were recorded at Forbes, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, IGN, CNBC, which closed its Hong Kong office, and USA Today Co.
The Standard’s Retreat From Daily Print
The financial logic driving many of these decisions was visible in accounts filed by the Evening Standard and reported by Press Gazette on October 12, showing that ending its daily newspaper helped the Standard reduce losses to 8.3 million pounds in the fifteen months to the end of 2025, down from 23.5 million pounds in the previous year. Revenue fell 40 percent to 14.1 million pounds. Average headcount fell to 110, and staff costs dropped from 19.3 million pounds to 7.5 million pounds. Of 75 staff at the start of the year, 36 left, 23 moved to The Independent and 16 stayed on the weekly edition. Smaller losses, in other words, were achieved largely by employing far fewer people.
The Reasons Given
Publishers cite a familiar mix of pressures. Future blamed a continuing fall in search traffic. USA Today Co said search traffic is under pressure and platforms are keeping users on their own sites. Several publishers point to weaker advertising markets and shifting subscription priorities. Some, including GB News, have cited automated workflows when proposing cuts, and Scripps is pitching itself as an AI-powered broadcaster. Ownership changes have also triggered reductions, with cuts following takeovers or sales at titles including the Chattanooga Times Free Press, BuzzFeed and Vox. Public broadcasters face their own funding pressures, with the BBC cutting costs and NPR working to replace lost federal subsidies.
The Human Cost
Behind the numbers are people: reporters who cover local courts and councils, sub-editors who catch errors before publication, photographers, producers and specialists whose expertise takes years to build. When newsrooms shrink, coverage thins. Fewer reporters means fewer stories, less scrutiny of local institutions and more reliance on press releases and agency copy. The loss of casual and freelance work also narrows the routes into journalism, making it harder for people without financial cushions to build careers.
The cumulative effect over several years is significant. Thousands of journalism jobs lost annually in Britain and the United States add up to a substantial reduction in the capacity of the press to inform the public and hold power to account.
What Comes Next
There is little sign that the pressures driving these cuts are easing. Search traffic continues to fall as AI-generated answers expand. Advertising remains volatile. AI tools are being adopted to automate tasks that once required staff. At the same time, some publishers are finding growth in subscriptions, newsletters, events and licensing deals with AI companies, and independent journalism platforms are attracting audiences.
For Journalists
For working journalists, the message is sobering but not hopeless. Skills in investigative reporting, data, audio, video and audience development remain in demand. Unions continue to negotiate redundancy terms and protections. Independent and nonprofit models offer alternatives, albeit with their own challenges. And the public need for accurate, accountable reporting has not diminished. If anything, in an information environment crowded with AI-generated content, the value of trustworthy human journalism is rising, even as the business models that support it continue to shrink.