The Washington Post announced a one-third workforce reduction on Wednesday.
- Journalists and media industry leaders are calling the WaPo layoff one of the darkest events in modern journalism history.
- The Post’s cuts impact international, editing, metro, and sports desks.
- Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who owns the Post, faces criticism for his brand of capitalism.
Social media was filled with scores of critical reactions to mass layoffs at The Washington Post on Wednesday, as well as criticism of its owner, Amazon.com founder and chairman, Jeff Bezos.
The storied newspaper handed the pink slip to a third of its staff – the reductions impacted the international, editing, metro, and sports desks – as the Post undergoes significant changes to spur readership and revenue. A company statement deemed it “decisive actions today for our future.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) posted a particularly punchy message on X, criticizing Bezos’ aggressive brand of capitalism despite his vast personal wealth.
“If Jeff Bezos could afford to spend $75 million on the Melania movie & $500 million for a yacht to sail off to his $55 million wedding to give his wife a $5 million ring, please don't tell me he needed to fire one-third of the Washington Post staff,” the X post read.
“Democracy dies in oligarchy,” Sanders added, taking a dig at the WaPo’s slogan, “Democracy dies in darkness.”
Bezos, the world’s fourth-richest person with an estimated net worth of $256 billion, funded the newly released “Melania,” a documentary following the U.S. First Lady during the 20 days leading up to Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration. Critics have dubbed it a “$75 million vanity project” by Amazon’s MGM Studios.
The other bit is a reference to Bezos’ lavish three-day wedding in Venice, Italy, last June.
Several of the Post’s impacted and former staff also criticized the move on X, with messages highlighting their important work at the publication and seeking new jobs.
“This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organizations,” said Martin Baron, who served as the paper’s executive editor from 2013 to 2021.
The letter from Baron, who is known for leading The Boston Globe’s 2021 investigation uncovering a decades-long conspiracy to cover up clergy child molestation in the U.S., as shown in the movie “Spotlight,” was shared by a New York Times reporter on X.
In the stern note, he said the Post’s challenges from the ongoing print media decline were made “infinitely worse” by management decisions under Bezos, including “a gutless order to kill a presidential endorsement 11 days before the 2024 election to a remake of the editorial page that now stands out only for its moral infirmity.”
That drove journalists and readers away, Baron said. “Bezos’s sickening efforts to curry favor with President Trump have left an especially ugly stain of their own. This is a case study in near-instant, self-inflicted brand destruction.”
Trump was a critic of Bezos during his first term in office over what the Republican president called unfair coverage by the Post. He praised the tech billionaire last March, saying Bezos was doing "a real job" with the publication.
Bezos purchased The Washington Post in 2013 for $250 million.
Bezos stepped down as CEO of Amazon in 2021 and remains the company’s executive chairman. Amazon is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results after the markets close on Thursday.
For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<
