Washingthon Post Unions hailed Lewis’ exit as “long overdue,” while owner Jeff Bezos called the leadership change an “extraordinary opportunity” to reset the paper’s future.
BY PC Bureau
Washington Post publisher and CEO Will Lewis resigned on Saturday, just days after the newspaper laid off nearly one-third of its workforce, triggering one of the most severe crises in its recent history.
“During my tenure, difficult decisions have been taken to ensure the sustainable future of The Post, so it can continue to publish high-quality, nonpartisan journalism for millions of readers each day,” Lewis wrote in a message to staff, later shared publicly by White House bureau chief Matt Viser.
Lewis, former Dow Jones chief executive and Wall Street Journal publisher, was appointed in 2023 as the Post battled deep financial losses. He replaced Fred Ryan, who had led the newspaper for almost a decade.
The Post said chief financial officer Jeff D’Onofrio will serve as acting publisher and CEO. D’Onofrio joined last June after holding senior roles at Google and Yahoo.
“Customer data will guide our decisions, sharpening our focus on delivering what matters most to our audiences,” D’Onofrio told staff.
Washington Post CEO Will Lewis resigns days after cutting 1/3 of staff
Jeff Bezos owned paper laid off 300+ journalists this week
Lewis was at NFL Honors in SF the same day staff were told they lost their jo🅱️s
A war correspondent got her layoff email while in a conflict zone pic.twitter.com/dwIPKBjsil
— Boi Agent One (@boiagentone) February 7, 2026
Union fury and newsroom outrage
Unions representing Post employees said Lewis’ exit was long overdue.
“Will Lewis’s departure is long overdue,” the Washington Post Guild said. “His legacy will be the attempted dismantling of a great American journalism institution. But it is not too late to save the Post. Jeff Bezos must immediately reverse these layoffs or sell the paper to someone willing to invest in its future.”
Jeff Bezos, who bought the newspaper in 2013, called the leadership change an “extraordinary opportunity.”
“The Post has an essential journalistic mission and an extraordinary opportunity,” Bezos said. “Each and every day, our readers give us a roadmap to success.”
Lewis’ resignation comes days after the Post cut roughly one-third of its staff across all departments, a move that stunned employees. His absence during Wednesday’s layoff announcement drew sharp criticism, with former executive editor Marty Baron calling it “among the darkest days” in the newspaper’s history.
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A troubled tenure
Lewis presided over repeated rounds of layoffs, plummeting morale, and the loss of hundreds of thousands of subscribers, particularly after the Post halted presidential endorsements and shifted its opinion pages toward a libertarian bent.
His leadership was controversial from early on.
In 2024, a clash with then-executive editor Sally Buzbee led to her departure, triggering newsroom unrest. Lewis then faced intense backlash for attempting to recruit British journalist Robert Winnett, a former colleague linked to a phone-hacking scandal that also touched Lewis.
Meanwhile, his signature project — a proposed “third newsroom” — never came to life.
Former Wall Street Journal editor Matt Murray was eventually named permanent replacement for Buzbee, who now serves as Reuters’ US and Canada news editor.
