The Associated Press says buyouts and some layoffs are ahead as it seeks to cut its workforce by 8%

The Associated Press said Monday that it would commence offering buyouts and lay off selected employees, part of a schedule to reduce the information outlet’s staff by about 8% and accelerate a shift to a digital-first organization.

The shift is part of what is expected to be a dispiriting complete-of-year period in the information industry, which is beset by business woes that leave back years. The complete of a busy presidential-election pattern was also expected to accelerate reorganization plans.

The AP said those eligible for buyouts were to discover of the propose, which would include severance pay and partial health coverage for 18 months, by the complete of Monday. Those whose positions are due to be eliminated would discover about their fates over the next few weeks.

Once considered the globe’s largest newsgathering organization, the AP no longer makes that claim and does not reveal the size of its staff. As a outcome, it was unfeasible to declare on Monday how many people would be affected. The AP said less than half of the anticipated cuts would involve its information employees, with the bulk happening within the United States.

The information Media Guild said that 121 of its members would be offered buyouts. The AP, without giving an approximate, said there would be fewer job cuts than that among the union members.

For years, information executives have had to make cutbacks because solutions to their business problems have proven elusive, said Gabriel Kahn, who helps run the media, economics and entrepreneurship program at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. It has become even tougher in the history couple of years as the work of journalists has become much less visible on social media, due to changes in search algorithms and artificial intelligence, he said.

“They’ve pulled the plug out of the bathtub and we’re watching the water going down the drain,” Kahn said.

The AP, which prides itself on being an unbiased information source, offers information stories, pictures, video, audio and interactive content direct to consumers via the website apnews.com. But the bulk of its business comes from selling its journalism to other information organizations that use it.

Earlier this year, two major information chains, Gannett and McClatchy, said they would stop buying information from AP, in Gannett’s case ending a connection that had lasted more than a century. The AP has diversified its income stream in recent years, including accepting philanthropic capital, but is still hurt by the information industry’s overall woes.

“We all recognize this is a period of transformation in the media sector,” Daisy Veerasingham, AP’s president and CEO, said in a note to staff members sent early Monday morning. “Our customers — both who they are and what they require from us — are changing rapidly. This is why we’ve concentrated on delivering a digital-first information update. We now require to accelerate on this path.”

In broad strokes, that means an increased emphasis on visual journalism — photos and video and the digital content that incorporates them into storytelling.

Veerasingham was not available for an interview, an AP spokeswoman said.

AP remains a central part of the information industry’s ecosystem, particularly when it comes to U.S. elections. During its election coverage earlier this month, the AP had unprecedented usage of its live video, election data, visuals and interactive products, Veerasingham said.

The AP said it had reached a tentative deal with its union to propose the buyouts, but that is subject to ratification by its members. “Sadly, it is apparently what is needed,” said Vin Cherwoo, president of the information Media Guild. “They’ve been seeking income for awhile and have had hardship getting it.”

Cherwoo said it’s unfortunate what is going on, but that “everyone can view what is going on at other information organizations across the country.”

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David Bauder writes about media for the AP. pursue him at http://x.com/dbauder.