Newsroom Bloodbath: Bezos-Owned Washington Post Layoffs Shake Staff

By Staff, Agencies

The Washington Post, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has launched massive layoffs, cutting about one-third of its newsroom staff in one of the most drastic reductions in the paper’s history.

Staff were told Wednesday that a "broad strategic reset" will close departments, cut international coverage, and overhaul local and editorial operations.

About 300 of The Post’s 800 journalists are expected to lose their jobs in what staffers called a "bloodbath.” "These moves are painful," Executive Editor Matt Murray said. "This is a tough day.”

Murray said the Post will close its sports and books sections, suspend the Post Reports podcast, shrink foreign bureaus, and significantly cut editors while merging art teams and restructuring the metro desk. "We can’t be everything to everyone," he told staff. "But we must be indispensable where we compete.”

The announcement followed staff appeals urging Bezos to halt the layoffs, which went unanswered. The Amazon founder, who bought the paper in 2013, did not publicly respond to letters from foreign, metro, or White House reporters.

Former editor Marty Baron called the layoffs "among the darkest days" for the Post, warning readers would lose crucial reporting. Staff said Bezos’s halted 2024 endorsement triggered massive cancellations and financial strain.

"Bezos is not trying to save The Washington Post. He’s trying to survive Donald Trump," former fact-checker Glenn Kessler wrote. Layoffs hit multiple desks, including West Asia, Ukraine, race and ethnicity, and the Amazon beat, with the entire West Asia team let go. Staff described weeks of rumors as "sick psychological warfare.”

The Post Guild warned the cuts threaten credibility, and the National Press Club said emptying newsrooms erodes accountability. Murray said leadership remains committed to quality journalism and hopes to rebuild once the paper reaches "sounder footing.”