Washington Post publisher Will Lewis resigns just days after paper enacts mass layoffs

Will Lewis, the embattled CEO and publisher of the Washington Post, has resigned just three days after the storied newspaper laid off about one-third of its staff.

In a note sent to employees Saturday and shared by them on social media, Lewis wrote that “after two years of transformation, now is the right time for me to step aside.”

“During my tenure, difficult decisions had to be 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,” he wrote.

Lewis also thanked Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos “for his support and leadership.”

The Post announced in a statement — which did not mention Lewis — that Jeff D’Onofrio would “immediately” take on the role of acting publisher. D’Onofrio has been the Post’s chief financial officer since June 2025. He was also previously CEO of the social media platform Tumblr.  

CBS News has reached out to the Post for comment. 

Lewis had been in the role of Post publisher since November 2023. Prior to coming to the Post, he was the publisher of the Wall Street Journal from 2014 to 2020.

On Wednesday, Post executive editor Matt Murray announced the layoffs on a Zoom call. Lewis received criticism from employees after he was allegedly absent from that Zoom call, according to multiple media reports.

As part of its layoffs, the Post scaled back its foreign news coverage and shut down some sections of the paper, including sports.

In a letter to the newsroom shared with CBS News, Murray wrote that the restructuring plans are intended to “place The Washington Post on a stronger footing” and better position the paper in a “rapidly changing era of new technologies and evolving user habits.”

A Post spokesperson confirmed to CBS News that the cuts impacted about one-third of the newsroom.

Speaking to CBS News earlier this week, Martin Baron, executive editor of the Post from 2013 to 2021, was critical of its leadership for some of its more recent editorial decisions, including a controversial move not to endorse a presidential candidate in the days before the 2024 national election, which he said hurt the paper’s reputation. 

He also directed blame at Bezos for prioritizing his other businesses — Amazon and Blue Origin — over the Post.