The Associated Press (AP) has announced plans to cut staff by ten per cent, in light of the current economic downturn and the recent reduction of fees for its members.

AP CEO Tom Curley said the reduction will mean a loss of more than 400 positions and will include some of the 3,000 journalists that make up 75% of the AP workforce.

He added that he “hopes” to avoid layoffs and complete the cuts through attrition.

Recently, a number of newspapers have decided to exit their AP contracts.