Financial Times lays off staff as chief executive warns of ‘need for change’
The Financial Times has completed a round of layoffs, Morning Wire understands, as the London newspaper’s new chief executive told staff of “the need for change” as part of an internal restructuring.
Around a dozen roles across the paper’s Product and Tech department have been axed following a consultation process, according to internal communications seen by Morning Wire, including roles responsible for innovation in user experience. Around half of departing staff left earlier in February, with the rest leaving on Friday.
Several staff have also been redeployed into different roles within Product and Tech, while others have been moved elsewhere in the business.
The layoffs follow appointment of Jon Slade as chief executive last summer and the appointment of a new chief product and tech officer in September, as the news organisation reviews old systems and structures within the firm.
At a town hall meeting on Tuesday, Slade told staff the next phase would require “long-term thinking and risk taking”.
“If we don’t address those debits, then there’s a risk we start running out of steam. And I’m not going to let that happen”.
He also claimed: “The need to change is not driven by cost challenges. We are a successful, growing and profitable business. It’s about giving us the focus and the shape and the capital to invest for our future growth as more challenges emerge.”
However, Slade acknowledged that “simplification does mean change” and that some roles “might be affected”. He maintained that reducing headcount was “not a primary goal”.
Blue-chip businesses cut back on subscriptions
The cuts come after Morning Wire revealed that the operator of the London Stock Exchange cancelled hundreds of subscriptions in what was viewed as a response to the paper’s gradual retreat from coverage of the London markets, with more resources instead ploughed into politics and international reporting.
That came after tech giant Google axed a number of enterprise news subscriptions as part of wider cost-cutting efforts, with thousands of FT subscriptions among the titles affected.
The cuts come even as Google reports strong revenues and continues to expand AI features that have strained relationships with publishers, many of whom argue that search traffic has been hit by AI-generated summaries.
The FT declined to comment on individual client relationships.
In a statement, an FT spokesperson said: “The FT is profitable and growing in a tumultuous time for the industry, and we’re proud of that.”
“This change has nothing to do with cost, but is about ensuring we have the right capabilities in the right places to support our future growth.”
Morning Wire has approached Google for comment.