Washington Times Executive Editor David Jackson made good on his November announcement that layoffs were coming today, according to staffers laid off at the meeting.
Around 20 employees were laid off this morning in a group announcement, the Washington Post reports. Jackson didn’t respond to an immediate request for comment. The Times is providing health benefits through January and a half-week of severance for each year at the paper, according to the Post.
While it’s not clear yet which staffers have been laid off, some, including sports reporter Patrick Stevens, have announced their exits on Twitter.
On Twitter, ousted Times employee Steve Repsher, who was laid off in the paper’s 2009 purge only to return and be cut again, wondered how firing Web employees fit into Jackson’s strategy for what he’s dubbed “Washington Times 3.0″
@doubleuefwhy And with the emphasis on a transition to a digital-first operation, they lop off half the web desk
— Steve Repsher (@SteveRep44) January 4, 2013
Photo by Darrow Montgomery.