WASHINGTON DC, United States?The Washington Post, in a cost-cutting move, is closing its last three domestic bureaus in the United States at the end of the year.

The six correspondents in the New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago bureaus will be reassigned to Washington but three news aides will be let go, Post executive editor Marcus Brauchli said in a memo to staffers Tuesday obtained by AFP.

"At a time of limited resources and increased competitive pressure, it's necessary to concentrate our journalistic firepower on our central mission of covering Washington and the news, trends, and ideas that shape both the region and the country's politics, policies, and government," Brauchli said.

"We will continue to cover events around the country as we have for decades by sending reporters into the field," he said. "Our commitment to national news of interest to our readers is undiminished, and we will maintain the level and caliber of coverage our readers expect."

The Washington Post Co.'s newspaper division has lost $166.7 million in the first three quarters of this year, the newspaper said Tuesday, and several hundred Post employees have accepted early retirement or "buyouts."

Like other US newspapers, the Post has been grappling with a steep drop in print advertising revenue, steadily declining circulation, and the migration of readers to free news online.