Bezos Defends Washington Post's 30% Staff Cuts as Paper Chases Profit

9 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 20

About 30% of Washington Post staff were cut earlier this year, and Jeff Bezos said Wednesday the paper must become a profitable business "that stands on its own two feet."
Heavy losses drove the layoffs, Bezos said, arguing paid readership is the clearest test of relevance and saying managers were told to "follow the data" when deciding which departments to trim.
Investigative reporting was the main exception: Bezos said it remains the Post's core mission, noting the newsroom is still larger than during Watergate and highlighting the paper's 2026 Pulitzer for Public Service.
Bezos said the Post was turned profitable within two years of his 2013 $250 million purchase and stayed in the black for six years, but later failed to adapt as subscriber losses mounted.
The defense comes after bruising cuts across sports, metro, books, foreign correspondence and photojournalism, and after Bezos drew criticism in 2024 for blocking the editorial board's planned Harris endorsement.

How does a critically panned documentary become a $75 million 'good business decision' for a tech giant?

Amid a bribery probe, what precedent does Amazon's deal set for corporate media and political families?

While investing billions in a new AI venture, why must The Washington Post undergo layoffs to survive?