He and Lewis have come under investigation for directly interfering in the newspaper’s editorial processes.
Bezos reined in the newspaper’s liberal-leaning editorial page and blocked its endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris just days before the 2024 election — breaking the so-called firewall of editorial independence.
He was widely seen as caving in to Donald Trump, who won the election.
The decision also clearly had financial consequences: The Wall Street Journal reported that 250,000 digital subscribers left the Post after it refused to endorse Harris, and the newspaper lost about US$100 million in 2024 due to declining advertising and subscription revenues.
As president, Trump has exerted direct pressure on journalists, initiating numerous lawsuits against media organizations.
Critics worry that a withered Post will make the country’s press force less able to hold the government accountable.
Marty Barron, the Post’s executive editor as of 2021, said the job cuts were considered “one of the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organizations.”