Shashi Tharoor's son, Ishaan Tharoor laid off from Washington Post as US daily cuts nearly one-third staff
More than 300 employees were affected by the restructuring, including the paper’s New Delhi bureau chief and its entire Middle East reporting team
- Feb 5, 2026,
- Updated Feb 5, 2026 11:46 AM IST
One of the world’s most influential newsrooms was jolted this week as The Washington Post laid off nearly one-third of its workforce, shutting down its sports section, ending book coverage and closing several foreign bureaus in one of the most sweeping job cuts in modern media.
More than 300 employees were affected by the restructuring, including the paper’s New Delhi bureau chief and its entire Middle East reporting team. Among those laid off was Ishaan Tharoor, a senior international affairs columnist and the son of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
Confirming his departure on X, Tharoor wrote, "I have been laid off today from the Washington Post, along with most of the International staff and so many other wonderful colleagues. I’m heartbroken for our newsroom and especially for the peerless journalists who served the Post internationally."
In a separate post, he shared an image of an empty newsroom, describing it simply as "a bad day."
Tharoor also reflected on his tenure at the paper, saying it had been an honour to launch the WorldView column in 2017 and thanking the nearly half a million subscribers who followed his work over the years.
Newsroom shaken across desks and continents
The Washington Post confirmed the layoffs on Wednesday, calling them part of a major restructuring. The cuts span multiple desks, including sports, books, metro, copy editing and international coverage, with bureau chiefs across regions announcing job losses on social media.
Pranshu Verma, the paper’s New Delhi bureau chief, wrote online, “Heartbroken to share I’ve been laid off from The Washington Post. Gutted for so many of my talented friends who are also gone.”
Cairo bureau chief Claire Parker said she had been laid off along with the paper’s entire Middle East team, calling the decision “hard to understand.” Journalists reporting from conflict zones were also affected. Ukraine correspondent Lizzie Johnson wrote on X, “I’m among the hundreds of people laid off by The Post… I have no words. I’m devastated.”
Other journalists who publicly confirmed their exit include national culture and entertainment writer Jada Yuan, books editor Jacob Brogan, technology columnist Geoff Fowler, Amazon reporter Caroline O’Donovan, and race and ethnicity reporter Emmanuel Felton.
Felton wrote, “This comes six months after hearing in a national meeting that race coverage drives subscriptions,” adding that the move was “not a financial decision” but an ideological one.
Leadership defends move, critics warn of lasting damage
Executive editor Matt Murray described the decision as painful but necessary, telling staff the organisation could no longer be “everything to everyone” as it adapts to changing technology and audience habits. Employees were informed via email after a company-wide meeting, and the scale of the cuts shocked staff across departments.
Former executive editor Martin Baron strongly criticised the move, calling it “near-instant, self-inflicted brand destruction.” Journalism academics and former staff echoed those concerns, warning the cuts risk long-term damage to the depth and credibility of one of global journalism’s most storied institutions.
The layoffs, which reportedly also shuttered the paper’s Jerusalem and Ukraine bureaus, have reignited a wider debate across the media industry about the future of traditional newsroom careers, the sustainability of global reporting, and whether freelance journalism is fast becoming the new backbone of international news coverage.
One of the world’s most influential newsrooms was jolted this week as The Washington Post laid off nearly one-third of its workforce, shutting down its sports section, ending book coverage and closing several foreign bureaus in one of the most sweeping job cuts in modern media.
More than 300 employees were affected by the restructuring, including the paper’s New Delhi bureau chief and its entire Middle East reporting team. Among those laid off was Ishaan Tharoor, a senior international affairs columnist and the son of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
Confirming his departure on X, Tharoor wrote, "I have been laid off today from the Washington Post, along with most of the International staff and so many other wonderful colleagues. I’m heartbroken for our newsroom and especially for the peerless journalists who served the Post internationally."
In a separate post, he shared an image of an empty newsroom, describing it simply as "a bad day."
Tharoor also reflected on his tenure at the paper, saying it had been an honour to launch the WorldView column in 2017 and thanking the nearly half a million subscribers who followed his work over the years.
Newsroom shaken across desks and continents
The Washington Post confirmed the layoffs on Wednesday, calling them part of a major restructuring. The cuts span multiple desks, including sports, books, metro, copy editing and international coverage, with bureau chiefs across regions announcing job losses on social media.
Pranshu Verma, the paper’s New Delhi bureau chief, wrote online, “Heartbroken to share I’ve been laid off from The Washington Post. Gutted for so many of my talented friends who are also gone.”
Cairo bureau chief Claire Parker said she had been laid off along with the paper’s entire Middle East team, calling the decision “hard to understand.” Journalists reporting from conflict zones were also affected. Ukraine correspondent Lizzie Johnson wrote on X, “I’m among the hundreds of people laid off by The Post… I have no words. I’m devastated.”
Other journalists who publicly confirmed their exit include national culture and entertainment writer Jada Yuan, books editor Jacob Brogan, technology columnist Geoff Fowler, Amazon reporter Caroline O’Donovan, and race and ethnicity reporter Emmanuel Felton.
Felton wrote, “This comes six months after hearing in a national meeting that race coverage drives subscriptions,” adding that the move was “not a financial decision” but an ideological one.
Leadership defends move, critics warn of lasting damage
Executive editor Matt Murray described the decision as painful but necessary, telling staff the organisation could no longer be “everything to everyone” as it adapts to changing technology and audience habits. Employees were informed via email after a company-wide meeting, and the scale of the cuts shocked staff across departments.
Former executive editor Martin Baron strongly criticised the move, calling it “near-instant, self-inflicted brand destruction.” Journalism academics and former staff echoed those concerns, warning the cuts risk long-term damage to the depth and credibility of one of global journalism’s most storied institutions.
The layoffs, which reportedly also shuttered the paper’s Jerusalem and Ukraine bureaus, have reignited a wider debate across the media industry about the future of traditional newsroom careers, the sustainability of global reporting, and whether freelance journalism is fast becoming the new backbone of international news coverage.