Slate, the online news magazine owned by the Washington Post Company, has laid off four employees, including editor-at-large Jack Shafer, Adweek has learned.
“We have made some editorial changes, including a small reduction in our full-time staff and our contractors,” Slate editor David Plotz confirmed.
Shafer, who writes the ezine’s Press Box column, confirmed in an email that he had been laid off, but said he “will continue as a contributor to Slate.”
“The industry we’re in changes very quickly,” said Plotz, who started as editor in 2008. “This was a decision that made sense both financially and editorially. It was a painful decision for us. But it was a decision that we think—coupled with some new editorial and technological investments that we’re going to make—will pay off in the long run.”
Slate employees were informed of the layoffs Wednesday.
Update: Also laid off were associate editor Juliet Lapidos, foreign editor June Thomas, and Timothy Noah, the "Chatterbox" columnist, who will continue to contribute as a nonstaff writer.