Washington Post CEO steps down amid outcry over massive job cuts
Will Lewis was replaced by Jeff D’Onofrio, a former CEO of Tumblr who had joined the paper as chief financial officer last year
The Washington Post said on Saturday its CEO and publisher Will Lewis was leaving effective immediately, just days after the storied newspaper owned by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos made drastic job cuts that angered readers.
Though newspapers across the United States have been facing brutal industry headwinds, Lewis’ management of the outlet was sharply criticised by subscribers and employees alike during his two-year tenure as he tried to reverse financial losses at the daily.
Lewis, who is English, has been replaced by Jeff D’Onofrio, a former CEO of social media platform Tumblr who had joined the Post as chief financial officer last year, the paper announced.
In an email to staff shared on social media by one of the newspaper’s reporters, Lewis said it was “the right time for me to step aside”.
A statement from the Post said only that D’Onofrio was succeeding Lewis “effective immediately”.
Hundreds of Post journalists, including most of its overseas, local and sports staff, were let go in the sweeping cuts announced on Wednesday.