The Associated Press said Monday that it would begin offering buyouts and lay off selected employees, part of a plan to reduce the news outlet’s staff by about 8% and accelerate a transition to a digital-first organization.

The AP said the buyouts would include severance pay and partial health coverage for 18 months.

Once considered the world’s largest news gathering organization, the AP no longer makes that claim and does not reveal the size of its staff. As a result, it wasn’t immediately known how many people would be affected.

The News Media Guild said 121 of its members would be offered buyouts. The AP, without giving an estimate, said there would be fewer job cuts than that among the union members. — Associated Press