The executive director of The Washington PostWill Lewis, announced his resignation, a few days after the newspaper he led announced that it was going to lay off a third of its staff. Hundreds of Post journalists were laid off as part of the cuts announced on February 4. Although the newspaper did not reveal the number of jobs in question, the The New York Times reported that around 300 of its 800 journalists had been laid off. Lewis’ decision was published on Saturday, February 7th.
The cuts were deeper, resulting in the closure of the Post’s famous sports section, the elimination of its photography staff and sharp reductions in staff responsible for covering the Washington metropolitan area and abroad. In recent years, the Post has seen a widespread defection of talent and lost tens of thousands of subscribers following Bezos’ decision, late in the 2024 presidential campaign, to drop a planned endorsement of Kamala Harris and a subsequent reorientation of its opinion section in a more conservative direction.
Martin Baron, the first editor of The Post under Bezos, criticized the billionaire for trying to “please President Trump” and called what happened at the newspaper “a case study in almost instantaneous, self-inflicted brand destruction.”. Lewis was a former top executive at The Wall Street Journal before taking the post at The Post in January 2024. His tenure has been difficult from the start, marred by layoffs and a failed reorganization plan that led to the departure of former top editor Sally Buzbee.
This week’s layoffs have led to some calls for Bezos to increase his investment in The Post or sell it to someone who would take a more active role. Lewis, in his note, praised Bezos: “The institution could not have had a better owner”he said. “During my tenure, difficult decisions were made to ensure the sustainable future of The Postso that it can, for many years to come, publish high-quality, nonpartisan news to millions of customers every day,” said Lewis.
The Washington Post Guild, the union that represents team members, said Lewis’s departure was long overdue. “His legacy will be the attempted destruction of a great American journalistic institution,” the union said in a statement. “But it’s not too late to save The Post. Jeff Bezos must immediately back down on these layoffs or sell the newspaper to someone willing to invest in its future”, argued the union.
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