February 7, 2026
Super Bowl, Super Backlash
Washington Post CEO Will Lewis Steps Down After Stormy Tenure
Will Lewis quits after mass layoffs — readers call him Bezos’s hatchet man
TLDR: Washington Post CEO Will Lewis resigned days after cutting 30% of the newsroom. Commenters blasted him as Bezos’s “hatchet man,” mocked a Super Bowl photo while the sports desk was axed, and fretted that a CFO now leads the paper, while a minority argued tough cuts were financially unavoidable.
The internet lit up when Will Lewis, the chief executive of The Washington Post, suddenly stepped down days after the paper cut 30% of its newsroom — over 300 journalists. In the news report, Lewis said he did it to ensure The Post’s “sustainable future,” but the online chorus heard something else: damage done, door slammed. One viral reaction branded him “Bezos’s hatchet man,” arguing he swung the axe and bounced. Another flashpoint: a photo of Lewis at a Super Bowl event the day after the sports desk was shuttered. Cue memes: “Sports team benched, CEO at halftime.” Ouch.
Former editor Marty Baron calling the layoffs one of the “darkest days” fueled the pile-on, while critics noted Lewis’s terse email thanked only owner Jeff Bezos. Bezos’s own statement praised The Post’s mission and opportunity — notably skipping the word “layoffs.” The interim replacement is Jeff D’Onofrio, the chief financial officer — which commenters read as bean counters in charge. Not everyone grabbed a pitchfork: a smaller camp argued brutal cuts were inevitable in a money-losing business, and that leaders get paid to make unpopular calls.
But the dominant mood? Optics disaster. Lewis didn’t even deliver the bad news on Zoom; top editor Matt Murray did. The internet’s verdict: too late, too light, and too corporate.
Key Points
- •Will Lewis resigned as CEO and publisher of The Washington Post shortly after major layoffs.
- •The layoffs cut 30% of staff, removing over 300 journalists and affecting local, international, and sports coverage.
- •Jeff D’Onofrio, the CFO, was appointed acting chief executive.
- •Jeff Bezos issued a statement emphasizing The Post’s mission and opportunity, without referencing cost-cutting.
- •Matt Murray informed employees of the layoffs via Zoom; Lewis did not participate and was later photographed at a San Francisco event.