The Washington Post, owned by Jeff Bezos, announced on Saturday that its CEO, Will Lewis, had stepped down, days after laying off three hundred journalists out of eight hundred employees, in the wake of a severe financial crisis and a rapprochement between Bezos and US President Trump. The newspaper had lost $100 million in 2024 after its popularity declined, with the exclusion of electoral support for Kamala Harris in the presidential elections that Trump won in the same year.

Published on: 02/08/2026 - 07:29 Last updated: 02/08/2026 - 11:10

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The Washington Post announced on Saturday that its CEO, Will Lewis, has stepped down from his position, days after it began implementing a large-scale plan to reduce the number of employees in this American newspaper organization owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos.

The announcement of the plan on Wednesday to lay off nearly 300 journalists out of 800 caused a shock, in light of the growing alliance between the founder of Amazon and US President Donald Trump, who has constantly launched campaigns against traditional media outlets since his return to power.

In an email sent to employees and revealed by a Washington Post journalist on social media, Will Lewis said that “after two years of working to grow The Washington Post, the time has come to step down.”

Read also: The Washington Post lays off hundreds of journalists due to financial pressures

Immediate replacement for a Finance Director

He will be replaced by Jeff D'Onofrio, who has been the Washington Post's chief financial officer since last year, according to the newspaper.

The Washington Post, known for exposing the Watergate scandal and the Pentagon Papers, and which has won 76 Pulitzer Prizes since 1936, has been suffering from an ongoing crisis for years.

During Donald Trump's first term, the newspaper performed relatively well thanks to its frank style of covering events. After the Republican billionaire left the White House, reader interest in it declined and its results began to decline sharply.

Record financial losses in 2024

The newspaper lost $100 million in 2024, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In the fall of 2024, The Washington Post refrained from publishing an editorial supporting Kamala Harris in the presidential campaign against Donald Trump, even though it had endorsed Democratic candidates in the 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 elections. Many saw this as an attempt by Jeff Bezos to get closer to Trump.

Bezos, whose fortune is currently estimated at $245 billion according to Forbes, acquired the Washington Post in 2013.

Comprehensive haircuts for foreign correspondents

“During my administration, difficult decisions were made to ensure a sustainable future for the newspaper, so that it can continue to publish high-quality, unbiased news to millions of readers daily,” Lewis said in his letter.

The Washington Post statement quoted Bezos as saying that the newspaper has "an exceptional opportunity. Every day, our readers provide us with a road map to success. Data tells us what is valuable and where we should focus our efforts."

A large number of foreign correspondents were laid off, including all those covering Middle East news and events in Russia and Ukraine.

Mass dismissals also affected sports, books, podcasts, local news, and infographics sections, and some were even canceled almost completely.

France 24/AFP

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