The Washington Post’s chief executive, Will Lewis, announced his resignation on Saturday, days after the newspaper revealed plans to cut roughly one-third of its staff. The move comes amid broader restructuring efforts at the publication and reflects the challenges facing the news industry as it adapts to a changing digital landscape.
Lewis announced his departure in a message to staff, stating that after two years of transformation, “now is the right time for me to step down.” Jeff DeOnofrio, the newspaper’s chief financial officer, will serve as interim CEO.
A statement from The Washington Post said DeOnofrio would succeed Lewis “immediately.”
Hundreds of journalists at the newspaper were impacted by the sweeping cuts announced Wednesday. While the newspaper did not disclose the exact number of positions eliminated, The New York Times reported approximately 300 journalists were laid off out of a staff of 800.
Neither Lewis nor billionaire owner Jeff Bezos participated in the meeting with staff during which the layoffs were announced Wednesday.
The cuts were deeper than anticipated, leading to the closure of the newspaper’s acclaimed sports section, the elimination of the photography staff, and significant reductions in personnel covering Washington D.C. And national affairs.
In recent years, the newspaper has experienced widespread talent departures and lost tens of thousands of subscribers following Bezos’s decision in late 2024 to walk back a planned endorsement of Kamala Harris and a subsequent shift in the opinion section toward a more conservative direction.
Martin Baron, the newspaper’s first executive editor under Bezos, criticized the billionaire for attempting to “curry favor with President Trump,” describing what has happened at the paper as “a case study in almost immediate destruction of a brand he inflicted on himself.”
Lewis, a former publisher and CEO of The Wall Street Journal, took the helm of The Washington Post in January 2024. His tenure has been turbulent from the start, marked by staff reductions and a failed restructuring plan that led to the departure of former publisher Sally Buzbee.
This week’s layoffs have prompted some calls for Bezos to either increase his investment in the newspaper or sell it to someone willing to take a more active role. In his memo, Lewis praised Bezos, saying, “The institution could not have a better owner.”
“During my tenure, difficult decisions have been made to ensure a sustainable future for The Washington Post so it can, for many years to approach, publish high-quality, non-partisan news to millions of customers every day,” Lewis said.
The Washington Post Guild, the union representing the newspaper’s employees, described Lewis’s departure as long overdue.
“His legacy will be a failed attempt to dismantle an American journalistic institution,” the Guild said in a statement. “But it is not too late to save The Post. Jeff Bezos must immediately reverse these layoffs or sell the paper to someone willing to invest in its future.”
The Guild added, “If Jeff Bezos is no longer willing to invest in the mission that has distinguished this paper for generations and served the millions who rely on Post journalism, The Post deserves a leader who will.”
Bezos stated, “The Post has a critical journalistic mission and an extraordinary opportunity. Every day our readers supply us a roadmap for success. The data tells us what is valuable and where to focus.”
DeOnofrio, who joined the newspaper in June after working at digital advertising management firm Raptive, Google, Zagat, and Major League Baseball, acknowledged the difficult transition in a memo to staff. “We are ending a challenging week of change with more change,” he wrote.
“What we have is a difficult time for all media organizations, and unfortunately, The Post is no exception,” he continued. “I’ve had the privilege of helping to chart a course for both transformative and culturally established institutions. They all have faced headwinds in a changing industry landscape, and we have risen to meet those moments. I have no doubt we will do so together.”
Additional Sources • AP
