Bezos-owned Washington Post cuts more jobs

The Washington Post is planning to lay off nearly 100 employees, about 4% of its total workforce, in response to growing losses. These layoffs primarily affect employees in the business division of the prominent American newspaper owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

In the digital age, many news organizations, including The Washington Post, are facing difficulties as an increasing number of online platforms compete for advertising revenue. These layoffs come during a turbulent period for the company, following Bezos's break from tradition in preventing an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the November U.S. presidential election.

A spokesperson for The Washington Post stated, "The Washington Post is continuing to transform to meet the needs of the industry. The adjustments we are making to our business functions are all aimed at better positioning The Washington Post for the future." In 2023, The Washington Post reported a loss of $77 million, and its website's readership has also declined. That same year, the newspaper announced voluntary buyouts for employees in an effort to reduce its workforce by 10%.

Bezos penned an op-ed explaining that preventing the endorsement was necessary because the public increasingly perceives "bias in the media." Despite this, the newspaper stated that 250,000 readers canceled their subscriptions in protest. Subsequently, several prominent journalists, including investigative reporter Josh Dawsey, have also left the newspaper, with Dawsey confirming on X that he will be joining The Wall Street Journal. Executive editor Matea Gold is also set to join The New York Times, a competitor of The Washington Post.

The apparent conflict between Bezos and the newspaper's top talent further escalated on Saturday when Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes stated she would be resigning from The Washington Post. This came after the newspaper refused to publish a satirical cartoon depicting Bezos and other business tycoons kneeling before a statue of President-elect Donald Trump. Last month, Bezos announced that Amazon would donate $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund and provide $1 million in in-kind contributions. Bezos has also described Trump's re-election as a "remarkable political comeback" and dined with the President-elect at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.