After Cutting 300 of 800 Reporters, WP CEO Departs, Saying Only He Is "Grateful to the Owner"

Will Lewis, CEO Who Led Restructuring
No Message to Reporters or Other Staff
Expressed Thanks Only to Owner Bezos

The publisher who has been leading restructuring at The Washington Post (WP), a major U.S. media outlet, has resigned.

On the 7th (local time), according to The New York Times (NYT) and other outlets, Will Lewis, publisher and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Washington Post, informed company employees in a message that "after two years of change, now is the right time for me to step aside," announcing his resignation.

He said, "I want to express my gratitude to Jeff Bezos for the support and leadership he has shown during my tenure," adding, "This organization could not ask for a better owner than him."

Lewis Will, publisher and CEO of The Washington Post, has resigned. AP and Yonhap News

Lewis previously served as CEO of Dow Jones and publisher of The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). He was brought in as publisher of The Washington Post in 2023, when the paper was already mired in a severe financial crisis, and has since overseen its restructuring. On the 4th, amid the spread of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and declining profit margins, The Washington Post laid off more than 300 of its 800 reporters, over one-third of the total. It also shut down its long-renowned sports section, discontinued its new book review section, and ended its news podcast "Post Reports."

Regarding this mass layoff of reporters, Lewis offered only a brief comment, saying that "difficult decisions were made to ensure a sustainable future so that The Washington Post can continue for many years to provide high-quality, nonpartisan news to millions of readers."

The Washington Post, long regarded as a leading progressive newspaper in the United States, saw its editorial stance shift after Jeff Bezos acquired it in 2013. As its line changed, large numbers of readers left, and the paper ran into serious management difficulties. Since 1976, The Washington Post has publicly endorsed the Democratic presidential candidate in every election except the 1988 presidential race.

Bezos Jeff, founder of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post. AP and Yonhap News

However, in the 2024 presidential election, even though it had prepared an editorial endorsing then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, it ultimately did not publish it, triggering a fierce backlash: about 200,000 subscribers canceled their subscriptions, and members of the editorial board resigned.

Within The Washington Post, some staff members are saying that if Bezos is not going to make aggressive investments in the newspaper, it would be better to sell it to someone else. The Washington Post employees’ union stated, "Lewis's legacy will be remembered as an attempt to destroy a great American news institution," and argued, "Bezos must immediately reverse these layoffs or sell the company to someone who is willing to invest in the future of the newspaper."

Bezos, however, has not budged, saying, "The Washington Post has an essential journalistic mission and a special opportunity. Our readers show us the roadmap to success every day."