Deep layoffs hit ‘The Washington Post,’ sparking sharp criticism for owner Jeff Bezos

The Washington Post informed its team on Wednesday morning that it was starting a round of mass layoffs, according to multiple media reports and a memo seen by Fast Company. Multiple sections are being shut down completely, while others are being shrunk significantly.

The paper’s executive editor, Matt Murray, announced the cuts to the newsroom employees, saying that all sections would be impacted by the layoffs. He said the Post would be making a “strategic reset,” and is also cutting staff on the business side.

The New York Times reported that approximately 30% of the Post’s employees are being laid off, including more than 300 of the around 800 journalists.

News of the layoffs attracted a harsh rebuke from people in the media, including the Post‘s own former editor, who criticized the paper’s owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

“This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organizations,” Marty Baron, executive editor of the Post from 2013 to 2021, said in a statement. “The Washington Post’s ambitions will be sharply diminished, its talented and brave staff will be further depleted, and the public will be denied the ground-level, fact-based reporting in our communities and around the world that is needed more than ever.”

Reached for comment, a Washington Post spokesperson sent the following statement: “The Washington Post is taking a number of difficult but decisive actions today for our future, in what amounts to a significant restructuring across the company. These steps are designed to strengthen our footing and sharpen our focus on delivering the distinctive journalism that sets The Post apart and, most importantly, engages our customers.”

Sports and other sections said to be gutted

The sports section will reportedly be eliminated entirely, meaning that Washington’s paper of record will not provide day-to-day coverage for any of the city’s professional or college sports teams.

Murray noted that some of the sports reporters will be moved to the features department to cover “the culture of sports.”

This comes in the wake of controversy surrounding the Post’s plans for the Winter Olympics, which start this week. The Times reported on January 24 that the paper axed its plans to send a delegation to the Italy games just two weeks before the opening ceremony, but quickly reversed that decision, sending a team of four after the report came out.

The Olympics aren’t the only major event looming on the sports calendar, as Super Bowl LX will be played in San Francisco this weekend, NCAA March Madness is just about a month away, and the FIFA World Cup, hosted in North America this year, kicks off in June.

Meanwhile, the Post is reportedly cutting down its Metro desk, which covers Washington, D.C., and its surroundings, from over 40 journalists to well below half of that. The Post is drastically reducing its international coverage as well, although some international bureaus will stay operational

Additionally, the paper is reportedly closing the books section and ending its daily Post Reports podcast.

Weeks of speculation regarding the paper’s future

The announcement comes after weeks of speculation within the newsroom. The Washington Post Guild made a statement last week, directly attacking Bezos, whose holding company, Nash Holdings, bought the paper for $250 million in 2013 and has owned it ever since.

During Donald The President’s first term as president, the Post adopted the slogan “Democracy Dies in Darkness” and experienced a period of growth thanks to its aggressive coverage of the administration.

In 2023, Bezos hired Will Lewis as publisher of the Post, and these layoffs are just the latest in a line of changes made since then. Notably, the paper did not endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election for the first time in 36 years.

In response to the layoffs, the Washington Post Guild released another statement: “These layoffs are not inevitable,” its first paragraph reads. “A newsroom cannot be hollowed out without consequences for its credibility, its reach and its future.”

This story has been updated with the Post‘s response to our inquiry.

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