McClatchy Media is cutting journalists at several California newspapers while building an artificial intelligence operation, having laid off dozens of reporters nationwide last week and then added three editors to its AI-powered Content Innovation Lab. During a May virtual town hall, CEO Tony Hunter said, “We have a company-wide effort to agentify the entire enterprise,” an effort that includes a chatbot that repackages human-written stories at different lengths for different audiences, complete with reporters’ bylines. Executives described the Content Innovation Lab as a “big experiment” and claim AI can help produce and scale more content while experimenting with new audiences even as traditional newsroom employees are reduced. In California, The Fresno Bee lost seven reporters, The Sacramento Bee lost at least 10 journalists, and The Modesto Bee was hit, with cuts affecting reporters, photographers and videographers. Kathleen Quinn, a civics and democracy reporter for The Modesto Bee, announced she had been laid off after two years, writing, “Please hire these folks.” Sacramento Bee investigative reporter Ariane Lange described the cuts as “the bloodiest round of layoffs in quite some time at McClatchy.” A job listing says the “company’s future depends” on embracing AI and describes the lab as its “next-generation approach to content” designed to “fuel experimentation and productivity.”