WASHINGTON: The Washington Post said on Saturday its CEO and publisher Will Lewis was leaving effective immediately, just days after the storied newspaper owned by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos made drastic job cuts that angered readers.

Though newspapers across the United States have been facing brutal industry headwinds, Lewis’s management of the outlet was sharply criticised by subscribers and employees alike during his two-year tenure as he tried to reverse financial losses at the daily.

Lewis, who is English, has been replaced by Jeff D’Onofrio, a former CEO of social media platform Tumblr who had joined the Post as chief financial officer last year, the paper announced.

In an email to staff shared on social media by one of the newspaper’s reporters, Lewis said it was “the right time for me to step aside.” A statement from the Post said only that D’Onofrio was succeeding Lewis “effective immediately”. Hundreds of Post journalists — including most of its overseas, local and sports staff — were let go in the sweeping cuts announced on Wednesday.

The Post did not disclose the number of jobs being eliminated, but The New York Times reported approximately 300 of its 800 journalists were laid off. The paper’s entire Middle East roster was let go as was its Kyiv-based Ukraine correspondent as the war with Russia grinds on.

Sports, graphics and local news departments were sharply scaled back and the paper’s daily podcast, Post Reports, was suspended, local media reported. Hundreds turned out Thursday at a protest in front of the paper’s headquarters in downtown Washington.

Newspapers across the country have cratered under falling revenues and subscriptions as they compete for eyeballs with social media, and as internet revenue pales in comparison to what print advertising once commanded.

However, national papers like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have managed to weather the storm and come out financially solid — something the Post, even with a billionaire backer, has failed to do.

In Lewis’s note to staff, shared on X by White House bureau chief Matt Viser, Lewis said “difficult decisions have been taken” during his tenure “in order to ensure the sustainable future of The Post so it can for many years ahead publish high-quality nonpartisan news.”

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2026