The Los Angeles Times is offering voluntary buyouts to employees who have been with the newspaper for two years or more amid changes under owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong to move the left-leaning outlet more to the middle.
In an email to staffers late Monday, LA Times brass said that while the paper remains “a vital source of news and information for our city, region, state and beyond, the economic landscape of the media industry continues to be extremely challenging. The difficult financial situation faced by the Times requires us to remain diligent in managing costs.”
“By offering this voluntary buyout program, we aim to provide those of you who may be interested with the flexibility to explore your options,” the memo said, while acknowledging the “inspiring” role staffers played in delivering coverage during the “devastating” fires that wiped out much of the Pacific Palisades and Altadena.
Neither the LA Times or its union, The LA Times Guild, responded to requests seeking comment.
The news, first reported by Semafor, comes after billionaire owner Soon-Shiong said last year that he was seeking a better “balance” to the paper’s liberal editorial coverage after he blocked his editorial board from publishing its endorsement then-Democratic presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Thousands canceled their subscriptions in protest and several members of the editorial board resigned at the time.
Soon-Shiong wrote on X in November that he planned to make his newspaper “fair and balanced so that all voices are heard and we can respectfully exchange every American’s view…from left to right to the center.”
“Coming soon. A new Editorial Board. Trust in media is critical for a strong democracy,” Soon-Shiong wrote on X.
In December, the owner demanded that its editorial board “take a break from writing about” Trump, as he has reportedly become more involved in monitoring and in some cases censoring coverage related to the president.
The owner also recently tapped conservative commentator Scott Jennings to serve on the newspaper editorial board.
Prior to those changes, the newsroom endured a brutal round of layoffs last January, in which it slashed over 115 jobs — or more than 20% of its 500-person newsroom — marking one of the largest workforce reductions in the newspaper’s 142-year-old history.
At the time, Soon-Shiong said the publication was losing $30 million to $40 million a year.
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