Associated Press lays off Pulitzer-winning journalist after 7-year stint: 'Without any prior notice'

In 2019, Maad al-Zekri, alongside two colleagues, won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting of the civil war in Yemen. (Image credit: Pulitzer)

A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist from Yemen has claimed that he was laid off by the international news agency Associated Press "without any prior warning" despite his role in award-winning investigations into the country's civil war.

Maad al-Zekri, who was part of an Associated Press team that won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting, said the decision came after years of frontline reporting and international recognition. According to Pulitzer's website, Alzekri received 13 international awards for his work on Yemen, including the Pulitzer, making him the first Arab journalist to receive the honour as part of an AP team.

“I was laid off from the Associated Press after 7 years of being tenured, without any prior notice,” Alzekri wrote. “All my love to the team I worked with and my colleagues.” He, however, did not specify when the layoff took place.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press has not publicly commented on Alzekri’s post at the time of writing.

A career documenting Yemen’s war

Alzekri’s reporting formed a critical part of AP’s investigations into Yemen’s civil war, a conflict that has drawn international condemnation for widespread civilian suffering.

As a video journalist on the ground, Alzekri reported on secret prisons run by the United Arab Emirates, where detainees alleged torture and abuse. He also documented the spread of hunger and cholera, and the lives of families displaced by years of fighting. His work contributed to a year-long AP investigation that exposed corruption, human rights abuses and the humanitarian toll of the war.

In 2019, Alzekri, alongside two colleagues, won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for this coverage. At the time, AP’s editors described his reporting and video work from Yemen as “essential” to the project.

Post triggers reactions on X

Alzekri's post triggered a wave of reactions on X, with journalists and media workers drawing parallels with broader job cuts across the industry.

“AP too? Something is in preparation?” one user wrote, while another added, “AP did same to me Ukraine with a huge smile. Nobody cares,” suggesting similar experiences at the agency.

The reactions reflect growing unease among journalists amid a spate of newsroom layoffs globally, particularly in the US.

Industry shaken by The Washington Post layoffs

Alzekri’s update comes days after The Washington Post announced sweeping job cuts, laying off about a third of its workforce across departments.

Staff at the Post were informed of the layoffs during a Zoom call on Wednesday morning, with employees later receiving emails confirming whether their roles had been eliminated. The cuts included the closure of the sports and books sections, a scaling back of international coverage, and the suspension of podcasts, according to multiple media reports.