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Three days after the Washington Post announced the firing of 1/3 of its editorial staff, Washington Post CEO Will Lewis resigned.
The CEO of the Washington Post, Will Lewis, said Saturday that he is resigning.
Lewis announced his departure in a two-paragraph email to the newspaper's staff, indicating that two years after beginning the transformation, it was now "the right time" for him to step down.
The Washington Post's chief financial officer, Jeff D'Onofrio, has been named interim chief executive officer.
Neither Lewis nor the Washington Post's billionaire owner, Jeff Bezos, were present at a newsroom meeting when the job cuts were announced on Wednesday.
Although the job cuts were expected, they were greater than expected, and as a result, the famed sports newsroom was closed, the photography staff was laid off, and there were major cuts to the staff responsible for reporting from Washington and abroad.
This comes despite a large exodus of talented journalists in recent years at the newspaper, which has lost thousands of subscribers after Bezos' order in late 2024, near the end of the presidential campaign, not to endorse Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, and a reorientation of the "Opinions" section in a more conservative direction.
Lewis, who was born in the UK, was previously managing director of the Wall Street Journal and took over the Washington Post in January 2024. His leadership of the newspaper was turbulent from the start, marked by job cuts, a failed reorganization plan that led to the departure of editor-in-chief Sally Busby.
Following this week's layoffs, there have been calls for Bezos to increase his investment in the newspaper or sell it to someone who will take a more active role. Lewis praised Bezos in his message.
"This institution could not have a better owner. During my time at the helm, difficult decisions were made to ensure a sustainable future for The Washington Post so that it can deliver high-quality, objective news to millions of users every day for years to come," Lewis said.
The Washington Post union, which represents employees, said Lewis should have left long ago.
"His legacy will be an attempt to destroy a great American journalistic institution. But it is not too late to save the Post. Jeff Bezos should immediately reverse the job cuts or sell the newspaper to someone who is willing to invest in its future," the union said.
Bezos did not mention Lewis in the statement, which said D'Onofrio and his team are positioned to lead the newspaper into an "exciting and successful new chapter."
D'Onofrio, who joined the newspaper last June, wrote in a message to employees that they are ending the week of change with more change.
"These are challenging times for all media organizations, and unfortunately The Post is no exception," D'Onofrio wrote, expressing confidence in the industry's ability to weather economic hardship in a changing environment.
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