In his address to the team, Lewis noted that his leadership had to make difficult decisions aimed at ensuring the sustainable development of WP and continuing to provide quality news to a broad audience.
Jeff D'Onofrio, the newspaper's CFO, will temporarily take on the responsibilities of publisher and CEO.
Jeff Bezos, the owner of WP, commented on the leadership change, stating that D'Onofrio is ready to take the publication to a new level. However, Bezos did not address issues related to the layoffs.
The union representing WP employees expressed its dissatisfaction with Lewis's resignation on the social network X, indicating that this decision was expected. The post stated that his legacy is tied to attempts to undermine the authority of one of the greatest American journalistic institutions. The union called on Bezos to reverse the layoffs or sell the newspaper to someone willing to invest in its development.
On February 4, Reuters and The New York Times (NYT) reported that during the reorganization, about 300 employees were laid off at WP, including staff from the international department. The closures also affected the sports and books departments, as well as the daily podcast Post Reports. NYT indicated that these measures are related to a decrease in subscribers and financial difficulties.
