The Washington Times slashed its 170-member newsroom staff Wednesday, laying off its top editor and scores of reporters, editors and photographers at the 27-year-old newspaper. 
 
 The Sports and Metro sections will cease to exist as stand-alone entities after Friday's edition, numerous sources said, and layoffs in those sections neared 100 percent. 
 
 At a somber staff meeting at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, the newspaper's management did not give an overall number of layoffs and did not spell out the fate of various sections and areas of coverage. Instead, after hearing from Times President and Publisher Jonathan Slevin and an official from the human resources department, employees were told to pick up packets that revealed their fates. 
 
 The paper's executives said in early December that impending layoffs would cut about 40 percent of the staff. Several newsroom sources said Wednesday that the layoffs had met or exceeded that percentage. 
 
 "Our market-based, forward-looking plan is both a response to the recessionary economy, continued downward financial pressures on the news industry and our transition into a 21st-century multimedia enterprise," Slevin said in a statement. 
 
 His office did not answer repeated calls Wednesday afternoon. 
 
 It was not immediately clear who was in charge of editorial operations at the paper, founded in 1982 by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, leader of the Unification Church. The paper's top newsroom executive, Managing Editor David Jones, said Wednesday he had been laid off. The paper's managing editor for digital operations, Jeffrey Birnbaum, said in a statement he had resigned the position but that he would continue as a columnist. 
 
 Slevin's statement did not name replacements to fill the two executive positions, though several lower-level editor posts were announced. 
 
 The Times has lost money since its inception, industry analysts have long said, yet had seemed to carve out a niche of coverage in the nation's capital, particularly for its conservative editorial pages. But dramatic upheavals began last year, when its Saturday edition was scrapped. Three senior executives were fired in November. Executive Editor John Solomon, whom the paper had hired away from The Washington Post, resigned the next week. 
 
 The company announced on Dec. 2 that layoffs would ensue but did not give a timetable, prompting harsh criticism from many employees. When the company announced that the Sunday edition was to cease after Dec. 27 and that a remodeled print edition would debut Jan. 4, employees figured the end was near. Several said their dismissal packet included notice that they would receive salary until Feb. 2, plus the amount of vacation pay they had earned for 2010. 
 
 "In spite of all turmoil and uncertainty about their jobs, this staff has come in each day and put out a solid, professional paper," Jones said. "I'm incredibly proud of them all." 
 
 The paper's Redskins beat reporter, Ryan O'Halloran, said he learned Wednesday that he had been laid off while covering a practice for the Redskins' Sunday game, which he already had been told he wouldn't be sent to cover. 
 
 "All I know is that the section is done," O'Halloran said. "It's good to finally get some closure, but it's still going to sting on Monday when there's no section." 
 
 Sports features writer Bob Cohn was traveling Wednesday and said he had not been notified whether he had been let go. But given the fate of his sports department colleagues, he was not optimistic. 
 
 "I'm grateful the Times hired me and enabled to be reunited with my family," Cohn said Wednesday by phone, noting that he came to the paper a decade ago from Arizona to be near his children. "I'm saddened not just for myself but for my colleagues. I think with limited resources, we've done a terrific job." 
 
 Slevin's statement said that the new version of the paper would emphasize investigative reporting, coverage of national politics, cultural issues, international and domestic economic matters and "in-depth local reporting." The company will continue to develop its Web site and radio show, he said. 
 
 "Monday begins a new chapter in the history of the Washington Times as a 21st-century multimedia company," the statement said. "The Washington Times intends to fill that role as a vital news provider nationwide by continuing to cover the news with a distinct and independent voice." ||||| The departure of Managing Editor Jeffrey Birnbaum wouldn't be the only change taking place today at the Washington Times, as staffers assembled for a 3:30 p.m. meeting to hear about further layoffs and cuts at the paper. 
 
 David Jones, the managing editor for print, was let go today along with several other high-ranking editors. At this point, it's unclear who is the top editor at the paper. 
 
 
 
 Barbara Slavin, assistant managing editor for world and national security, confirmed to POLITICO that she was among those let go today. 
 
 
 
 Slavin — like Birnbaum and Matt Mosk — joined the Times in the brief period that John Solomon ran the paper and said that she's proud of the work the editorial team had done. Overall, she said, the Times will be "losing many good people who have put in a lot of hard work over the years." 
 
 
 
 What's strange is that some of the cuts coming down today are in areas that Times management said were core strengths going forward just this month, including national security. Justice department reporter Ben Conery — another Solomon hire — was let go today, too, leaving behind reporter Eli Lake as perhaps the only staffer brought in by the former top editor. 
 
 
 
 "None of us understand what the strategy is," Slavin said, adding that the cuts have been done in a "haphazard way." 
 
 At today's meeting, Slevin spoke before staffers were given an envelope that basically informed them whether they were staying or going. Staffers present attest to the somber mood in the room as many were informed that they'd been let go. (Wemple's take here). 
 
 One staffer who will remain at the paper said the way things have been handled by management has "done nothing to instill a sense of confidence." 
 
 President and publisher Jonathan Slevin announced some management changes in a release put out just now that includes additional personal moves in anticipation of Monday's launch of a new, refocused print edition. 
 
 Newsroom leadership and management positions announced include the following: Christopher Dolan, National Politics Editor; Jerry Seper, Investigative Editor; Victor Morton, News Editor; and John Bourantos, Night Editor. Other newsroom positions yet to be announced are Editor, Geopolitics Editor, International Business Editor, Online Editor, and News Director. Brett Decker, currently Managing Editor, Editorial and Commentary Pages, was promoted to the position of Editorial Page Editor. Current Managing Editor-Digital Jeff Birnbaum has resigned his management position and will continue as a Washington Times columnist covering Washington policy and politics. 
 
 
 
 There has been speculation that sports and metro — which hadn't been included in a previous release among core strengths — would be cut from the paper. While it's still unclear, the release does mention that "the new print edition will also include national news, sports features and in-depth local reporting." 
 
 Slevin said in a statement that "Monday begins a new chapter in the history of The Washington Times as a 21st-century multimedia company." 
 
 (This post has been updated within the text as new info became available). 
 
 UPDATE: It seems pretty clear that the sports department is gone, according to some recent tweets. TWTSports: In a completely self-serving note, make sure to pick up a final copy of the @TWTSports section on Friday. Lots of good commemorative stuff." And Ryan O'Halloran, Redskins beat writer, tweets: Times sports section is kaput. Make sure to call and cancel subscriptions after Friday. 
 
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– The Washington Times has slashed half of its 170 newsroom staff ahead of Monday's relaunch of its print edition. The sports and metro sections will cease to exist as separate sections and nearly all staff members of those sections have been laid off, sources tell the Washington Post. Managing editor David Jones is among several high-ranking editors losing their jobs. "None of us understand what the strategy is," departing assistant managing editor for world and national security Barbara Slavin tells Politico. The cuts have been done in a "haphazard way," she added. Times president Jonathan Slevin issued a statement saying next week "begins a new chapter in the history of the Washington Times as a 21st-century multimedia company."