'Washington Post' CEO Departs After Going AWOL During Massive Job Cuts

Will Lewis, the embattled CEO and Publisher of The Washington Post, has abruptly departed the company, ending a tumultuous two-year tenure that culminated in his conspicuous absence during one of the most brutal rounds of layoffs in the storied newspaper's history. The announcement, made Saturday evening, caps a period of crisis and controversy that saw the paper's financial losses mount and its newsroom shrink dramatically.

The paper's chief financial officer, Jeff D'Onofrio, has been named acting CEO and publisher, tasked with navigating the institution through the fallout of a radical strategic contraction and a severe crisis of morale.

A Tenure Defined by Turbulence

Lewis's arrival just two years ago was meant to usher in an era of "radical innovations" to reverse years of significant financial decline. Instead, his leadership was defined by turbulence and a failure to stabilize the business.

In a June 2024 all-staff meeting—his last—Lewis revealed the stark reality of the Post's finances, telling staffers that annual losses had reached $100 million. His promises of transformation failed to materialize into a clear, successful strategy, leading to the drastic measures that ultimately sealed his fate.

In his resignation note, Lewis referred to his time as "two years of transformation," but for the newsroom, it was a period of uncertainty that ended in a painful downsizing.

The Cuts That Shook the Newsroom

The breaking point came last Wednesday, when the company executed a massive layoff that slashed the newsroom by more than a third. The cuts were deep and wide-ranging, fundamentally altering the scope and ambition of the Post's journalism.

• Layoff Scope: Over a third of the newsroom was laid off via a mandatory Zoom call, reducing the total staff to approximately 500 journalists.

• Departmental Impact: The cuts were not evenly distributed. The entire sports desk was eliminated, the local news staff was reduced from over 40 to about a dozen, and the international desk was decimated.

• Global Presence: The paper's esteemed foreign coverage was hollowed out. The entire Middle East team was let go, along with the Ukraine bureau chief and another war correspondent, who reported receiving her termination email while in a war zone.

Executive Editor Matt Murray stated he hopes the paper will maintain a "presence" in 12 global locations, but sources familiar with the plans indicate this will likely rely heavily on local stringers rather than full-time staff correspondents.

Leadership in Absentia

As the institution underwent this painful redefinition, Lewis was nowhere to be seen.

He played no visible role in announcing the layoffs to his staff, leaving senior editors to deliver the news. Nor did he issue any public statement to the Post's readers, who were left to witness the dismantling of a journalistic powerhouse without comment from its leader.

The perceived abandonment was compounded when, just a day after the layoffs, Lewis was photographed attending a red carpet Super Bowl event in Northern California. This image, circulating while former employees were processing their job losses, cemented a profound loss of faith within the newsroom.

In the weeks prior, journalists had taken the extraordinary step of appealing directly to the paper's owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, in letters pleading with him to prevent the cuts and secure the paper's financial future. Bezos did not respond.

Bezos Breaks His Silence

Bezos, who had been publicly silent on the paper's recent struggles, finally commented in the same company statement that announced Lewis's departure. He signaled a path forward heavily reliant on data to guide editorial and business strategy.

"The Post has an essential journalistic mission and an extraordinary opportunity," Bezos wrote. "Each and every day our readers give us a roadmap to success. The data tells us what is valuable and where to focus."

This statement marks a potential philosophical shift, emphasizing reader metrics as the primary driver for a leaner, more focused publication. The new strategy, as outlined by Murray, will center on:

• U.S. politics and national security
• Health and wellness
• Other subjects with demonstrated high reader interest

An Uncertain Path Forward

The task of executing this new vision falls to Jeff D'Onofrio, the former CFO now serving as acting CEO. In the company press release, D'Onofrio paid homage to the paper's legacy.

"The Post's resolute commitment to writing the first rough draft of history anchors and imprints its future," D'Onofrio said. "I am honored to become part of charting that future and to take the lead in securing both the legacy and business of this fierce, storied American institution."

His leadership begins at a critical juncture. He inherits a newsroom grappling with diminished resources and shattered morale, and a business model that remains unproven.

• The Bezos Era: When Bezos acquired the Post from the Graham family in 2013 for $250 million, he was hailed as a savior for a declining metro daily. He invested heavily, and under the leadership of former Executive Editor Marty Baron, the paper enjoyed six consecutive years of profitability and a resurgence in journalistic prestige.

• A Generational Investment: Bezos has repeatedly called his ownership a long-term commitment, writing in 2019 that his "stewardship of The Post...is something I will be most proud of." He largely remained hands-off on editorial matters, even as his other business interests, like Amazon's pursuit of a $10 billion Pentagon contract, were scrutinized by the paper's reporters.

The departure of Will Lewis marks the definitive end of one chapter for The Washington Post and the uncertain beginning of another. The new leadership, under the close watch of its billionaire owner, must now prove that a smaller, more data-driven Post can not only survive but thrive, all while upholding the "fierce, storied" legacy D'Onofrio has been tasked to protect.