WASHINGTON — William Lewis, the publisher and chief executive officer of The Washington Post, resigned on Saturday amid intense criticism from staff and the broader journalism community following the company’s announcement earlier this week that it would cut roughly 300 employees across the newsroom.
Lewis, who had led the Post since early 2024 after being appointed by owner Jeff Bezos, will be succeeded in an acting capacity by Jeff D’Onofrio, the paper announced in a statement Saturday. D’Onofrio, who joined the Post in 2025 as chief financial officer and previously held leadership roles at Raptive, Tumblr, Google and other media companies, will assume the dual role of publisher and CEO effective immediately.
The transition comes on the heels of a highly controversial round of layoffs announced Wednesday that have reshaped large portions of the newsroom, including the dissolution of the sports and books desks and sweeping reductions in local and international coverage. Executive Editor Matt Murray, who communicated the cuts to staff, described them as part of a broader “strategic reset” amid economic pressures in the news industry.
But the depth of the layoffs — affecting about one-third of the newsroom — and the timing of Lewis’s absence during key communications with employees sparked widespread anger. Critics noted that Lewis was attending Super Bowl-related events in San Francisco while cuts were occurring, a detail that fuelled frustration among departed and current staffers.
In a statement accompanying the leadership change, the Post’s board said D’Onofrio brings “strategic business experience” at a critical moment and acknowledged the “tumultuous week” the organization has faced. The announcement included language echoing the press release shared by communications officials, which described D’Onofrio as a “strategic business leader” and underscored his role in charting the paper’s future.
Staff reaction to the layoffs was swift and emotional. Veteran journalists outside the organization have also voiced alarm over the cuts. Bob Woodward, the longtime investigative reporter and author, said he was “crushed” by the layoffs and stressed the damage he sees in dismantling hard-earned newsroom capacity.
Critics of the leadership shift argue the departures and resignations reflect deeper challenges the Post faces as it responds to financial pressures, changing audience habits and competition from other media. Bezos, who acquired the paper in 2013, has defended organizational changes as necessary for long-term sustainability, but many journalists lament the loss of institutional knowledge and reporting breadth that helped define the paper for decades.
