Ishaan Tharoor Among Hundreds Laid Off in Washington Post Restructuring

Ishaan Tharoor, a senior international affairs columnist at The Washington Post and son of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, has reacted with visible anguish after being laid off as part of a sweeping restructuring at the US newspaper. Tharoor was among roughly one-third of the publication’s workforce affected by the cuts, which were announced on Wednesday and are being described as one of the most extensive newsroom reductions in the paper’s history.

Confirming his exit on social media, Tharoor said he was “heartbroken” for the newsroom and his colleagues, many of whom he described as close friends and long-time collaborators. He noted that the layoffs had disproportionately impacted the paper’s international staff, including editors and correspondents who formed the backbone of its global reporting. Tharoor had been associated with The Washington Post for nearly 12 years.

In a post on X, Tharoor reflected on his time at the publication, recalling the launch of his widely read WorldView column in 2017. He said the column was created to help readers better understand global affairs and the United States’ role in the world and expressed gratitude to the hundreds of thousands of loyal subscribers who followed his work over the years.

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The layoffs are part of a broader restructuring at the Jeff Bezos-owned newspaper, which has also included the closure of its sports desk and the scaling down or shuttering of several international bureaus. Reports indicate that foreign correspondents, local reporting teams, and parts of the business division have been among the hardest hit, significantly reducing the paper’s global footprint.

Tharoor later shared an image from what appeared to be the newsroom, featuring The Washington Post’s iconic slogan, “Democracy Dies in Darkness,” accompanied by the caption, “A bad day.” The post was reposted by his father, Shashi Tharoor, drawing further attention to the impact of the layoffs.

The scale of the cuts has sparked concern within journalistic circles, with current and former staff describing the move as a “dark day” for the publication and for international journalism more broadly. Observers warn that the contraction reflects deeper financial and structural pressures facing legacy media organizations worldwide, particularly in sustaining foreign reporting at a time of global instability.

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