Washington Post publisher Will Lewis announced on Saturday that he is stepping down, just three days after the newspaper revealed plans to lay off one-third of its staff.
In an email to the Post’s employees, Lewis stated that “difficult decisions have been taken in order to ensure the sustainable future of The Post.” Notably, neither Lewis nor the newspaper’s billionaire owner, Jeff Bezos, participated in the staff meeting where the layoffs were announced earlier this week.
Following Lewis’s departure, the Post’s chief financial officer, Jeff D’Onofrio, was named acting publisher and CEO. D’Onofrio joined the newspaper only last June.
Lewis, who is British-born, was previously a top executive at the Wall Street Journal before taking over as publisher of the Post in January 2024. His tenure has been challenging from the outset, characterized by layoffs and a failed reorganization plan that led to the exit of former top editor Sally Buzbee.
The Post has also faced a significant decline in subscribers. This came after Bezos instructed the paper to pull back an anticipated endorsement of Kamala Harris for president late in the 2024 presidential campaign. Following this, the editorial pages shifted to a more conservative stance, contributing to the subscriber loss.
While layoffs had been expected, the recent cuts were deeper than many anticipated. These reductions resulted in the shutdown of the Post’s renowned sports section, sharp cutbacks in its foreign and metro coverage, and the dismissal of its photographic staff.
These moves mark a turbulent period for The Washington Post as it navigates significant editorial and organizational changes amid evolving readership and political dynamics.
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2026-02-07/washington-post-publisher-will-lewis-stepping-down