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November 30, 2021
January 8, 2025
By Evans Momodu
4 minute digest
The Washington Post announced Tuesday it has laid off around 100 employees, primarily within its business division, marking another chapter in the newspaper’s ongoing financial struggles.
The layoffs, affecting approximately 4% of the staff, did not include newsroom employees, according to a Post spokesperson. This follows months of turbulence at the organisation, including resignations of high-profile journalists, executive challenges, and controversies surrounding owner Jeff Bezos.
The newspaper’s financial difficulties have been evident for some time. In May 2024, publisher and CEO Will Lewis revealed that the Post had suffered a $77 million loss in 2023, emphasizing, “We are in a hole, and we have been for some time.” While Lewis outlined a strategy to stabilise the paper, subsequent events have exacerbated the challenges.
In a move that sparked significant backlash, Bezos blocked the Post from endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 2024 election, ending a decades-long tradition of political endorsements.
The decision, defended by Bezos as a move to maintain journalistic neutrality, led to internal resignations and a public uproar. In the weeks following the announcement, over 250,000 digital subscribers—about 10% of the paper's total—cancelled their subscriptions, further straining finances.
The endorsement controversy triggered a wave of departures. High-profile resignations and poachings by rival outlets have drained the Post’s talent pool.
These included managing editor Matea Gold leaving for The New York Times and political reporters Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer joining The Atlantic.
Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes also resigned, criticising the paper for refusing to publish her satirical cartoon of Bezos and former President Donald Trump.
Amid the turmoil, Bezos has attempted to recalibrate the Post’s direction and his relationship with President Trump, meeting with Trump and donating $1 million to his inaugural fund.
Speaking at the DealBook Summit, Bezos framed his decision to block the endorsement as a principled choice, asserting that endorsements hold little sway in elections. He quipped, “I’m the doting parent” when it comes to supporting the Post financially, despite the evident challenges.
The layoffs and controversies at the Post reflect broader struggles in the media industry, where outlets face rising costs, declining ad revenue, and increasing competition for readers.
While Bezos’s ownership was initially seen as a stabilising force, recent decisions have exposed vulnerabilities in the Post’s business model and raised questions about its editorial independence.
The situation highlights the delicate balance between editorial freedom, financial sustainability, and the role of billionaire ownership in shaping modern journalism.
Source: CNN
