Major Atlanta newspaper announces more layoffs as part of digital transformation plan

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) announced Tuesday that it would be laying off newsroom employees along with other staff across the company, according to the outlet.

About 50 positions will be cut as part of the layoffs and roughly half are newsroom positions, according to the AJC, which is 15% of the paper’s total staff.

“We’ve made these difficult decisions because we believe they will best position us to continue to accelerate the AJC’s growth,” President and Publisher Andrew Morse said, according to the paper. “We have invested heavily in our editorial, product and business teams over the last three years, and we’ve seen direct results from that investment.”

The paper previously announced in August that it would be cutting jobs and scrapping its print edition starting in 2026, with the final issue scheduled for Dec. 31, 2025.

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“As we grow, we must be agile and ensure we are devoting resources where they will have the most impact for our audience,” Morse said. “While these changes are difficult on a personal level, they will best position the AJC to continue delivering journalism worth paying for.”

The decision to eliminate the print paper resulted in the “elimination of about 30 full- and part-time jobs involved in designing and distributing the newspaper” as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution shifted to digital-only publishing.

Staffers were alerted on Tuesday that the AJC offices would be closed Wednesday, and it would be a remote workday.

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Employees affected by the layoffs will be briefed in meetings on Wednesday and will receive severance packages, according to the paper.

Morse told the AJC that the paper’s owner, Cox Enterprises, believes the transformation to digital only will be beneficial in the long term.

“We are not taking our foot off the gas,” he said. “Cox remains deeply committed to the AJC, our team remains deeply committed to growth, and we will continue to invest in areas that are critical to the growth of our organization.”

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