The Washington Post reportedly slashed its workforce by roughly one-third Wednesday, The Associated Press reports.
Many of those fired have taken to social media to share their heartbreak.
“I was laid off by The Washington Post today. This is gutting for our readers and our section, but I’m grateful for the 4 years I had to cover sports alongside friends and legends,” wrote Spencer Nusbaum, former Washington Post sports reporter, on Wednesday. The paper shuttered their sports department earlier in the day.
Nusbaum added: “Anyways, yeah. This is an incalculable loss for the region and sports journalism. It will be jarring to wake up in the morning — in one of the biggest metro areas in the country — and not have a sports section (and so many other great parts of The Post) to turn to.”
“Gutting”? “Incalculable loss”? These are fitting descriptions for the death of a loved one, but hardly a reasonable way to describe your own termination. Generously, Nusbaum was referring to the loss of the entire sports section. But if Nusbaum’s sports insights are so valuable, I’m sure he’ll get picked up elsewhere. Or start a Substack. (RELATED: WaPo Editor Steps Down After Jeff Bezos Announces Paper Will Write In Defense Of ‘Personal Liberties And Free Markets’)
There are more dignified ways to announce you’ve lost your job. Sonia Rao, a reporter and “occasional critic for The Washington Post’s Style section,” wrote a fairly measured post about being fired.
“I was laid off today from The Washington Post. It was an honor to work for almost a decade alongside such thoughtful, talented colleagues. If you’re hiring for arts coverage…hit me up!” Rao wrote.
I guess every site becomes LinkedIn eventually.
Sam Fortier, a former sports reporter for The Washington Post, made the ill-advised decision to dramatize his termination in a skit.
“POV you got laid off from the Washington Post,” Fortier’s skit begins. Then follows nearly a minute of Fortier blinking silently and looking crestfallen as a voice off-screen explains the decision to lay him off.
I am part of the mass layoffs at the Washington Post.
I am sad and angry. We all want to keep doing the work.
But for now I want to document a reality of being in journalism today. pic.twitter.com/Xzrq6HhiP7
— Sam Fortier (@Sam4TR) February 4, 2026
Fortier added that he was “sad and angry” in the video’s caption. What bothers me most about the video isn’t the self-pity, but the incorrect use of “POV.” If I’m supposed to be embodying the perspective of Fortier, shouldn’t I be looking at the computer? I request, for the sake of accuracy, that he retitle his video: “POV you’re watching Sam Fortier get laid off from The Washington Post.”
“In 2021, I was hired by [The Washington Post] to cover health disparities & explore the way racism & social inequality affects health. 4 months ago, I became the generations’ reporter exploring how health is experienced by different pple across the life course. Today, I was laid off,” wrote Akilah Johnson. (RELATED: ‘Black Doctors Directory’ No Longer Just For Black Docs After Lawsuit)
Perhaps Johnson can pivot to exploring the way racism and social inequality affect bitter ex-Washington Post reporters.
The self-aggrandizing attitudes of certain journalists reminds me of an old joke about an emergency on a plane.
The stewardess yells, “Is there a doctor on board?”
A man stands up: “I’m a journalist.”
“This man is having a heart attack!”
“Allegedly,” the journalist adds.
Follow Natalie Sandoval on X: @NatSandovalDC
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