Will Lewis out as Washington Post CEO days after mass layoffs
Will Lewis has stepped down as a publisher and CEO of The Washington Post just days after making around 300 journalists redundant.
Lewis told staff he was leaving on Saturday night in an email that said: “All – after two years of transformation at The Washington Post, now is the right time for me to step aside.
“I want to thank Jeff Bezos for his support and leadership throughout my tenure as CEO and publisher. The institution could not have a better owner.
“During my tenure, difficult decisions have been taken in order to ensure the sustainable future of The Post so it can for many years ahead publish high-quality nonpartisan news to millions of customers each day. With gratitude, Will.”
A PR announcement sent on by The Washington Post on Saturday night said chief financial officer Jeff D’Onofrio was succeeding Lewis as acting CEO and publisher “effective immediately”.
D’Onofrio said: “The Post’s resolute commitment to writing the first rough draft of history anchors and imprints its future.
“I am honored to become part of charting that future and to take the lead in securing both the legacy and business of this fierce, storied American institution.”
Owner Jeff Bezos said: “The Post has an essential journalistic mission and an extraordinary opportunity. Each and every day our readers give us a roadmap to success. The data tells us what is valuable and where to focus. Jeff, along with Matt [Murray, executive editor] and Adam [O’Neal, opinion editor], are positioned to lead The Post into an exciting and thriving next chapter.”
D’Onofrio has previously worked as chief financial officer of digital advertising company Raptive and CEO of publishing platform Tumblr.
Lewis faced scrutiny during his time at the heavily loss-making Post over his previous work cleaning up the hacking scandal at News Corp. This included co-operating with police over the release of emails that saw dozens of journalists arrested and 26 confidential sources jailed for more than 20 years in total.
The decision by the Post not to publish an expected endorsement of Kamala Harris in the 2024 US presidential election led to some 250,000 people cancelling their subscriptions.
The Washington Post Guild union said in a statement: “Will Lewis’s exit is long overdue.
“His legacy will be the attempted destruction of a great American journalism institution. But it’s not too late to save the Post. Jeff Bezos must immediately rescind these layoffs or sell the paper to someone willing to invest in its future.”
In 2024 Lewis failed to appoint Telegraph deputy editor Robert Winnett as executive editor. The change was press-released and expected to happen but Lewis was forced to back down after a backlash from staff. US media aired concerns about Winnett’s previous newsgathering methods, including when working on the MPs’ expenses scandal.
In 2024, Lewis announced the launch of a “third newsroom” called WP Ventures at the Post, focusing on video, audio, newsletters and social engagement.
Last year WP Ventures was put under a commercial, rather than editorial, leader – with a remit to focus on “personality-driven” creator-style content.
In July 2025 the face of the paper’s Tiktok account and Youtube channel Dave Jorgenson left the title to launch his own venture Local News International.
According to analysis by journalist Matt Kaolian, Washington Post Youtube traffic plunged following Jorgenson’s departure with Local News International overtaking it on monthly views later in 2025.
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