Bezos Says he’s Still Backing The Washington Post — Staff Aren’t so Sure after Mass Layoffs

The original story by Brian Stelter for CNN.

Jeff Bezos is still telling people he’s committed to The Washington Post, executive editor Matt Murray told CNN Wednesday — even as the paper cut roughly a third of its staff the same day.

“He wants the Post to be a bigger, relevant, thriving institution,” Murray said.

But inside the newsroom that sentiment landed flat. Reporters and editors say you can’t slash your way to growth — and many openly doubt the owner’s long-term commitment. About one in three employees were let go on Wednesday, sources say, including more than 300 people in the newsroom.

The brutal round of cuts has only dialed up scrutiny of Bezos. Some staffers are murmuring about whether he’ll sell the paper; others have hoped he would.

“If Jeff Bezos is no longer willing to invest in the mission that has defined this paper for generations and serve the millions who depend on Post journalism, then The Post deserves a steward that will,” The Post Guild said in a statement.

Bezos himself hasn’t gone public with a new plan, but Murray and others say he’s pushed privately for the paper to stop losing money, return to profitability and find a sustainable path. Murray declined to detail his conversations with Bezos or say when they last spoke, calling Wednesday more of a “reset” and saying Bezos supports “reinvention.”

“From my perspective, Jeff is nothing but supportive of getting the house in order and being positioned for growth,” Murray said.

He also praised Bezos for not interfering in editorial coverage:

“He is perfect…about being an owner that does not interfere in the news mandate.”

Staff have rallied around the hashtag #SaveThePost after some even wrote letters to Bezos hoping to keep their jobs. Murray pointed out that Bezos himself used that language at the end of 2024, when he told the DealBook conference, “We saved The Washington Post once, and we’re going to save it a second time.” Murray was tapped as executive editor around that time and became the visible face of Wednesday’s layoffs; publisher and CEO Will Lewis did not address staff directly, prompting questions about his role.

Murray defended Lewis in the CNN interview, saying Lewis has been working on new revenue streams and experimenting with AI and product technology.

“Some of that’s experimental. I can’t say it’s all worked, but also, having an experimental mindset is part of what we needed,” Murray said, adding that Lewis has strengthened the Post’s digital subscription business.

Still, the paper has bled subscribers — a drop that accelerated after Bezos halted a planned editorial endorsement of Kamala Harris in late 2024. Changes in the opinion pages since then have also stoked worries that Bezos might be using the paper in ways that could curry favor with President Donald Trump and potentially benefit his businesses, like Amazon and Blue Origin — concerns voiced by current and former staff.

Murray insisted the newsroom’s focus hasn’t changed.

“Our job should be reporting on Trump aggressively without fear or favor, and that’s what we’re here to do,” he said.

He pointed to the staff’s ongoing scoops and work on big stories. When asked whether the Post would keep covering Amazon after the paper’s longtime Amazon beat reporter, Caroline O’Donovan, was laid off, Murray said coverage would continue — even though employees said more than half of the tech beat reporters were cut.

Murray framed some of the layoffs as short-term moves to stabilize the business rather than a permanent retreat from ambition. He wouldn’t answer whether he’d considered quitting instead of overseeing the reductions.

“I want to have the chance to see if we can get the Post to a better place,” he said. “That’s important because the Post is an important institution that should survive and should thrive.”