Washington Post publisher and CEO Will Lewis has resigned abruptly, days after sweeping layoffs triggered newsroom backlash, raising fresh questions about leadership, morale and the paper’s direction under Jeff Bezos
In a move that blindsided many inside The Washington Post, publisher and chief executive Will Lewis has abruptly resigned, just days after the newspaper cut roughly one-third of its staff—nearly 300 journalists—in one of the biggest newsroom layoffs in US media history.
Lewis, who took over the company in early 2024 and was seen as Jeff Bezos’s hand-picked leader, announced his departure in a staff email on Saturday evening. The announcement came on the heels of intense backlash from reporters, editors and industry watchers, many of whom had criticised both the scale of the layoffs and Lewis’s leadership style.
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“After two years of transformation at The Washington Post, now is the right time for me to step aside,” Lewis wrote. “I want to thank Jeff Bezos for his support and leadership throughout my tenure as CEO and Publisher. The institution could not have a better owner,” he added.
The resignations comes amid deep discontent within the newsroom following last week’s cuts, which shuttered key departments and reduced coverage across sports, books, local news and international reporting. Many journalists described the
layoffs as a devastating blow to the Post’s capacity to report.
Critics were especially sharp about Lewis’s absence during the layoffs’ announcement, and even highlighted photos of him attending Super Bowl festivities just as colleagues were losing jobs.
Lewis defended his decisions in the memo, saying the changes were necessary “to ensure the sustainable future of The Post so it can for many years ahead publish high-quality nonpartisan news to millions of customers