Washington Post Cancels On-Site Winter Olympics Coverage Ahead of Expected Layoffs

The Washington Post canceled on-site coverage plans for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games in Italy on Friday, sharing in a memo to sports staffers that the decision came after management assessed financial priorities for the year.

The cancellation came just weeks ahead of the Games’ launch on Feb. 6 — and ahead of reported layoffs at the Jeff Bezos-owned newspaper.

“As we assess our priorities for 2026, we have decided not to send a contingent to the Winter Olympics,” Managing Editor Kimi Yosino wrote in a memo shared by Semafor’s Max Tani. “We realize this decision and its timing will be disappointing to many of you, so please reach out to me if you want to talk further.”

Kicking off in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on Feb. 6 and running till Feb. 22, the 2026 Winter Olympic Games marks the 100th anniversary of the Winter Games and will highlight sports like alpine skiing, bobsledding, luge and ice hockey across 25 venues.

The Post’s assessment that having a team on the ground in Italy is not a financial priority came amid impending layoffs at the news organization, with Status reporting earlier this week that newsroom management is due to make operational cuts in February. It will be the second consecutive year the Post has undergone Q1 layoffs, after exiting 4% of its workforce last January.

The Washington Post made headlines again just earlier this month when, in a controversial move, the FBI raided journalist Hannah Natanson home and seized devices containing sensitive sourced materials that on Thursday led to Pentagon contractor Aurelio Perez-Lugones being charged with five counts of unlawfully transmitting classified national security information and one count of unlawfully retaining classified information in the case.

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