On Friday, May 15, 2026, the Associated Press confirmed it was laying off about 20 US-based journalists, the final round of a US restructuring announced last month. The cuts come on top of roughly 40 buyouts already accepted earlier this year, bringing the total reduction to approximately 50 employees and impacting less than 5% of AP's news staff.
The News Media Guild received notice just before 10 a.m. Friday that AP was planning to implement layoffs that same day. Among those let go were experienced photographers, a fact that drew sharp criticism from union leadership given the company's stated pivot toward visual journalism.
"The irony. The company touts that it is prioritizing visual journalism, yet among the 20 employees sacked today are experienced photographers," said Kimberlee Kruesi, an AP reporter and the guild's acting president.
AP framed the move as part of a broader business shift. Revenue from US newspaper groups now accounts for less than 10% of overall revenue and has declined roughly 25% over the past few years, while revenue from tech companies has grown about 200%. The cuts primarily affect the US news team and do not impact AP's 50-state footprint.