The Financial Times reported that Will Lewis, the publisher and CEO of The Washington Post, stepped down amid intense backlash following massive layoffs at the Jeff Bezos-owned newspaper.
A Washington Post newsroom source told the FT that senior management was livid upon learning Lewis attended Super Bowl-related festivities in San Francisco around the time the job cuts were announced. The source added, “Bezos lost patience,” describing the optics as the “last straw” for Lewis's controversial tenure.
Lewis, appointed by Bezos in late 2023 to turn around the struggling publication, faced criticism for his absence during the layoff announcement and for not addressing staff or readers directly. Photos of him at a pre-Super Bowl event, juxtaposed with the gutting of the sports desk, fueled outrage among current and former employees.
His departure was announced via email to staff, where he called it “the right time for me to step aside” after two years of transformation efforts, and he praised Bezos as an ideal owner. The Post's chief financial officer, Jeff D’Onofrio, was named interim replacement.
The episode highlights ongoing tensions at the Post over cost-cutting, strategic direction, and leadership perception under Bezos's ownership.