Scribe Rues Mass Layoffs, Eventual "Murder" of The Washington Post

“We’re witnessing a murder.” Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of The Washington Post, and Will Lewis, the publisher he appointed at the end of 2023, are embarking on the latest step in what appears to be a plan to destroy everything that makes the paper special, Ashley Parker reported for The Atlantic.

The paper will be closing its Sports department and Books section, ending its signature podcast, and dramatically gutting the International and Metro departments, along with imposing sweeping cuts across all teams. (Photo: Dion Hinchcliffe Flickr) 

The Post has survived for nearly 150 years, evolving from a hometown family newspaper into an indispensable national institution and a pillar of the democratic system.

But if Bezos and Lewis continue down their current path, it may not survive much longer.

Over recent years, management has repeatedly cut the newsroom—killing its Sunday magazine, reducing staff by several hundred, and nearly halving the Metro desk—without acknowledging the poor business decisions that led to this moment or articulating a clear vision for the future.

On Tuesday morning, Executive Editor Matt Murray and HR chief Wayne Connell told newsroom staff in an early-morning virtual meeting that the paper was closing its Sports department and Books section, ending its signature podcast, and dramatically gutting the International and Metro departments, along with imposing sweeping cuts across all teams.

Post leadership—who did not even address staff in person—then left employees waiting for an email informing them whether or not they still had jobs.

Reuters, the Associated Press (AP), National Public Radio (NPR), and British newspapers have also warned that The Washington Post could eventually be shut down by Bezos, an anti-union billionaire accused of compromising the newspaper’s independence by courting US President Donald Trump.