Days after mass layoffs, Washington Post CEO steps down

WASHINGTON — The Washington Post is navigating a profound leadership crisis following the abrupt departure of Publisher and CEO Will Lewis late Saturday. His exit comes just days after the storied newspaper executed a painful restructuring that eliminated more than 300 journalistic positions, a full third of its staff, leaving the future of the institution firmly in the hands of its billionaire owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

The move caps a tumultuous period of financial decline, strategic missteps, and plummeting newsroom morale. Bezos has named the paper’s Chief Financial Officer, Jeff D'Onofrio, as acting CEO, signaling a potential new era where data and financial metrics will dictate the path forward for one of America's most important news organizations.

A Leadership Vacuum

In the wake of Lewis's departure, Jeff Bezos has moved swiftly to install an interim leader from within the paper's business division.

Jeff D'Onofrio, who joined the Post as CFO, will now serve as acting CEO. In a statement, D'Onofrio affirmed his "long-standing respect and admiration" for the Post's journalism and its "critical role in our society." Both he and Bezos have indicated that future decisions will be heavily driven by consumer data and performance metrics—the same analytics that reportedly guided the recent, drastic newsroom cuts.

This shift to a finance-led, data-centric approach represents a significant pivot for the Post, as it grapples with an identity crisis and a hemorrhaging balance sheet.

The Final Straw for a Beleaguered Staff

While the timing of Lewis's exit was sudden, it was met with a mixture of relief and anger within the newsroom, according to sources familiar with the staff's sentiment. The reaction is the culmination of two years of what many employees describe as unfulfilled promises and failed initiatives.

The animosity toward Lewis solidified in his final days. He was conspicuously absent when Executive Editor Matt Murray announced the devastating layoffs to the staff. His departure from the CEO role was reportedly sealed after a former Post employee photographed him on the red carpet at a Super Bowl event in the Bay Area the following night, an image that circulated rapidly and was viewed as the ultimate act of detachment from the crisis unfolding at his newspaper.

• Failed Turnaround: Staffers felt that Lewis’s highly touted innovations over his two-year tenure failed to reverse the paper’s steep financial losses, which Lewis himself had previously stated ran into the tens of millions, at one point approaching a hundred million dollars annually.
• Erosion of Trust: Lewis had not directly addressed the newsroom since June 2024, following a period where his professional ethics came under public questioning, creating a deep disconnect with the journalists he led.
• A Public Betrayal: His decision to attend a high-profile sporting event immediately after dismissing a third of his workforce was seen by many staffers—and reportedly by Bezos—as an unforgivable lapse in judgment and leadership.

Anatomy of a Strategic Retreat

The layoffs that preceded Lewis's exit were not across-the-board cuts but a strategic amputation designed to reshape the Post's journalistic mission. The restructuring signals a retreat from the paper's ambition to be a broad, general-interest national publication and a doubling down on its core political coverage.

Under the plan executed by Executive Editor Matt Murray, the newsroom will prioritize its Washington-centric reporting.

• Preserved Core: The paper's prestigious national security and national policy desks, long considered the heart of its coverage, were largely preserved.
• Drastic Reductions: The sports and books sections were effectively dismantled, while the international and metro desks—once hallmarks of the Post's comprehensive reporting—were gutted.

This strategic narrowing raises fundamental questions about the Post's competitive standing against national rivals like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

The Bezos Factor: From Savior to Architect of Crisis

Jeff Bezos, who has owned the Post since 2013, is now at the center of its crisis. His tenure can be split into two distinct eras. Initially, he was lauded as the paper's savior, purchasing it during a period of intense financial distress and investing heavily in its newsroom and technology. Under his ownership and the leadership of former executive editor Marty Baron, the paper enjoyed six consecutive years of profitability, fueled in part by the "Trump bump" in subscriptions.

However, as that political wave receded, so did the Post's profits, and Bezos's role has become far more controversial.

• Leadership Missteps: The source material notes that Bezos is responsible for appointing two consecutive CEOs who "failed to meet the moment," culminating in the current turmoil.
• Unprecedented Interventions: In a sharp break from his previously hands-off approach, Bezos personally intervened to kill a planned endorsement of Kamala Harris days before the 2024 presidential election, a move he claimed was to "rebuild trust." He followed this by orchestrating a "radical transformation" of the paper's editorial and opinion section in February 2025, which was widely seen as a pivot away from the paper's traditions.
• Business Consequences: These decisions had a direct and severe financial impact. The Post lost hundreds of thousands of subscribers, representing a 15% decline in its subscriber base, at a time when reader revenue is critical for survival.
• Owner Absenteeism: Despite his direct role in shaping the paper's new direction, Bezos was reportedly "AWOL" during the recent mass layoffs, leaving his senior editors to face the newsroom alone.

An Uncertain Future

With Lewis out and a CFO at the helm, The Washington Post faces fundamental questions about its identity and strategy. The paper that once competed on a national and global scale now appears to be retrenching to focus on the federal government, a niche already crowded by nimble, digital-native competitors like Politico, Axios, and Vox—some of which were founded by former Post journalists.

In his memoir, Marty Baron recalled Bezos telling him that while the paper must be driven by data, "principles trump metrics." Today, as the newsroom reels and a coherent strategy has yet to emerge, the staff and the wider industry are left to wonder what principles are now guiding Jeff Bezos.

• The Strategic Crossroads: The primary question is whether the Post will cede its national ambitions to focus on the Washington political arena or attempt to rebuild its broader appeal under a new, yet-to-be-defined strategy. The answer will determine its relevance and viability for years to come, and it rests solely on the shoulders of its owner.