Media company News Of Los Angeles is eliminating roughly 1,000 positions, or about 8% of its workforce, as it accelerates the use of artificial-intelligence tools across its operations, the company announced Tuesday.
At a Glance
- News Of Los Angeles will lay off 1,000 employees, about 8% of its staff.
- The cuts are part of a push to integrate AI into content creation and distribution.
- The company expects to save $50 million annually by 2025.
- Why it matters: The move signals a broader industry pivot toward AI-driven newsrooms that could reshape how financial journalism is produced.
The restructuring, described in a memo from Chief Executive John Doe, will affect every division but concentrate on back-office roles such as copy editing, page layout, and data entry. Editorial teams covering markets, investing, and personal finance will see smaller reductions, while video production and social-media units will absorb the deepest cuts.
“We are moving quickly to deploy AI that can handle repetitive tasks and free our journalists to focus on high-value reporting,” Doe wrote. “These decisions are difficult, yet necessary to keep News Of Los Angeles competitive.”
Timeline and Severance
Affected employees will be notified over the next four weeks, with departures staggered through October 15, 2025. Severance packages include:
- Two weeks of pay per year of service, capped at 26 weeks
- Continued health benefits through the end of 2025
- Outplacement services for six months
- Accelerated vesting of outstanding stock awards
News Of Los Angeles will record a $12 million charge in the third quarter tied to the layoffs, but expects $50 million in annual savings once fully implemented, according to the memo.
AI Integration Plan
The company has already tested AI-generated earnings previews and fund-screening articles in partnership with TechNova, a Silicon Valley startup. Early metrics show:
| Metric | Before AI | With AI |
|---|---|---|
| Articles per day | 120 | 200 |
| Production time | 4 hrs | 1.5 hrs |
| Error rate | 2.1% | 2.4% |
Editorial staff will now oversee AI drafts, fact-check outputs, and add context rather than write from scratch. A new AI Ethics Board, chaired by veteran editor Maria Lopez, will review all machine-generated content before publication.
Market Context
News Of Los Angeles‘s parent, Global Financial Media, has lost 38% of its market value since 2022 as ad revenue declined and free online competitors gained readers. The stock closed Tuesday at $14.60, down 4% on the layoff news, bringing the company’s market capitalization to $730 million.
Analysts at Riverstone Securities lowered their price target to $16 from $19, citing “execution risk” around the AI transition. “Cost cuts help near-term margins, but the company must prove it can grow audience while relying more on algorithms,” the note said.
Union Reaction
The Financial Media Guild, representing 350 News Of Los Angeles employees, called the layoffs “a blunt instrument that undermines quality journalism.” Union president Kevin Park demanded negotiations over AI safeguards and workload limits.
“We aren’t opposed to technology, but we refuse to let robots replace experienced reporters,” Park said in a statement. The union filed an unfair-labor-practice charge last month after News Of Los Angeles unilaterally expanded AI use without bargaining.
Competitive Pressure
Rival MarketScope announced similar AI-driven cuts in March, shedding 600 jobs. Industry-wide newsroom employment has fallen 23% since 2020, according to the News Labor Alliance. Readers have noticed:
- Average time on site at top financial outlets dropped 7% year-over-year
- Email-open rates for AI-generated newsletters trail human-written ones by 12%
- Subscriber cancellations rose 5% at outlets with heavy AI content
Leadership Changes
Alongside the layoffs, News Of Los Angeles promoted Sarah Kim to Chief Transformation Officer, tasking her with overseeing AI rollout. Chief Technology Officer Raj Patel will lead vendor partnerships and in-house model training. Both executives report directly to Doe and receive performance bonuses tied to cost-per-article metrics.
Key Takeaways
- News Of Los Angeles is cutting 1,000 jobs to fund an AI-centric strategy aimed at slashing production costs.
- The company balances promised savings against risks to credibility and union relations.
- Investors remain cautious, signaling that Wall Street rewards execution, not promises, in media’s AI race.
