As US-based news outlet The Washington Post releases one of the deepest rounds of layoffs in its history, a senior employee at its international desk has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help colleagues suddenly left without jobs, protections or, in some cases, basic security.
With more than 80% of international desks cut, journalists face urgent financial difficulties and logistical challenges. (Bloomberg)The fundraising began after The Post laid off several hundred employees on February 4, 2026, a move that greatly affected its international operations. Among those who were let go were dozens of foreign correspondents and locally hired staff, for example Ishaan Tharoor, son of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
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According to the ongoing GoFundMe page, the fundraiser has already received strong support, raising nearly all of its $160,000 goal with contributions from nearly 1,400 donors.
Affected employees include reporters, editors, researchers, translators, office managers and drivers working in bureaus from Cairo to Mexico City.
Many were employed through subsidiaries outside the US, making them ineligible for union protections and severance provisions available to US-based workers.
As a result, many now face sudden loss of income, housing, visas and health benefits, with serious logistical and security concerns.
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Fundraising is being overseen by The Post’s Tokyo/Seoul bureau chief Michelle Lee, fellow Post journalist Rebecca Tan and others.
Organizers said 100 percent of the money raised will be distributed directly to laid-off international workers through services such as Venmo, Zelle, Western Union and bank transfers.
The funds are intended to help cover emergency expenses including rent, legal advice, visa issues, relocation to a safe country, storage of belongings and other immediate relocation needs.
In a series of emotional LinkedIn posts, Lee described the layoffs as devastating and said the international desk was “ruined.” He said more than 80 percent of the Post’s international staff was let go in a week, including journalists working in war zones without electricity, breaking news teams in Seoul and London and correspondents who had moved overseas just months ago.
Lee writes that many journalists risked their lives to report on authoritarian regimes, armed groups, transnational crime networks and global conflicts, often while living away from their families and working across time zones. “They are my brilliant and multilingual friends, mentors, role models, support networks,” she wrote, urging news organizations to hire them.
The Washington Post is owned by Amazon boss and tech billionaire Jeff Bezos.
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The scale of the cuts extends beyond international desks.
Lee said more than a third of the Post’s newsroom, an estimated 850 employees, has been eliminated, wiping out reporting capabilities across regions from Kiev and Moscow to Jerusalem, Delhi, China and Sydney.
He warned that downsizing could leave the newspaper almost “unrecognizable”.
Calling the layoffs “insensitive,” Lee said newsroom staff are paying for financial decisions they didn’t make. While expressing confidence that the organization will eventually be reorganized, he said the loss of colleagues has created a deep void. The GoFundMe campaign, he said, is a small but necessary step to support those navigating an uncertain future.
