LAist lays off eight staffers citing federal funding uncertainty

LAist in Pasadena, Calif., has laid off eight employees due to financial headwinds that could worsen with the potential loss of its federal funding.

​​“Public media outlets like LAist are especially affected by declining revenue and rising operating costs,” Alejandra Santamaria, president and CEO, told LAist members in a Tuesday email. “In addition, recent changes at the federal level — including a new executive order — may lead to significant reductions in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. If those changes go into effect, LAist could face the loss of an additional $1.7 million annually.”

The organization made the cuts to “responsibly plan” for the possibility of federal funding loss and “maintain our financial stability,” Santamaria wrote. 

LAist is part of the American Public Media Group and will soon share its workspace with Marketplace, the L.A.-based APM show specializing in economic reporting. Neal Scabrough, Marketplace GM, announced the relocation plan last month as part of a restructuring that eliminated seven jobs. 

LAist’s SAG-AFTRA union said in a statement posted to X that it was “saddened and extremely disappointed” to learn about the layoffs. Journalists were among those affected by the workforce reduction, which marks the third straight year that LAist has downsized, according to the union. Job losses are  “severely curtailing our ability to deliver on our mission,” the union said. 

Last year, LAist cut 28 positions through a combination of voluntary buyouts and layoffs. 

“We are aware of financial challenges facing LAist and the journalism industry as a whole, including the recent executive order to end federal funding of public broadcasting,” the statement said. “But the announcement of layoffs was abrupt.”

According to the union, the $1.7 million in federal funding amounts to about 4% of the organization’s budget.