Washington Post C.E.O. Will Lewis Steps Down After Stormy Tenure
Source: NYT
Will Lewis, the embattled chief executive and publisher of The Washington Post, has stepped down, the company announced Saturday.
Mr. Lewis said in a statement that he had made the difficult decision “in order to ensure the sustainable future of The Post.”
Mr. Lewis stepped down days after the company undertook a significant round of layoffs that cut 30 percent of the staff — more than 300 journalists — setting off widespread recrimination from current and former Post employees. Marty Baron, the celebrated former editor of The Post, called it one of the “darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organizations.”
Mr. Lewis will be succeeded by Jeff D’Onofrio, formerly the chief financial officer of The Post.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/technology/washington-post-will-lewis.html?unlocked_article_code=1.KVA.CXu5.qTLlduAKr5FP&smid=url-share
Was there even a game plan here? Like, did he know he was on the chopping block or did he plan on "stepping aside"? Is there a scandal about to break? Does life have coherence and meaning or is this all just dystopian AI slop futurism?
— Ana Marie Cox (@anamariecox.bsky.social) 2026-02-07T23:01:12.598Z
= new reply since forum marked as read
Washington Post publisher Will Lewis steps down days after massive layoffs gut the newspaper
Updated 13 min ago
Updated Feb 7, 2026, 6:00 PM ET
PUBLISHED Feb 7, 2026, 5:53 PM ET
By Andrew Kirell, Brian Stelter
Washington Post publisher Will Lewis abruptly stepped down on Saturday afternoon. (Carlotta Cardana/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
The Washington Post’s publisher Will Lewis has stepped down, just days after the newspaper laid off one third of its newsroom.
“After two years of transformation at The Washington Post, now is the right time for me to step aside,” Lewis wrote Saturday afternoon in a brief note to staff. “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,” Lewis’ note concluded.
The Post said that CFO Jeff D’Onofrio, the former CEO of Tumblr who joined the Post in June, will take over as acting publisher and CEO, “effective immediately.”
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