Friday, February 13, 2026

Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post begins massive layoffs

The Washington Post expanded during the first several years after Mr Bezos took ownership of the newspaper

• February 4, 2026
Washington Post
Washington Post [Credit: The Daily Beast]

American billionaire, Jeff Bezos-owned newspaper, The Washington Post, is laying off a large number of journalists on its payroll.
The newspaper’s executive editor, Matt Murray, said on Wednesday that the move was necessary to make broad cuts.


The layoffs targeting the newspaper’s local, international and sports coverage, would shrink its newsroom.
Mr Murray told employees on a call on Wednesday that all sections would be affected in some way,  noting that the end result would be a publication that focuses even more on national news and politics, as well as business and health, and far less on other areas.


He stated that the sports section would close, though some of its reporters would stay on and move to the features department to cover the culture of sports
He added that while the newspaper’s international coverage would be reduced, reporters would remain in nearly a dozen locations.
He noted that the metro section would shrink and the books section closed alongside the “Post Reports” daily news podcast.


“The actions we are taking include a broad strategic reset with a significant staff reduction,” Mr Murray said.
The company is also making broad cuts on the business side. He noted that the company had lost too much money for too long, and had not been meeting readers’ needs.
“I know that every one of us believes deeply in this place,” Mr Murray said, “and we all want to save it.”


“We must work together to become nimbler, and to find new ways of working and innovating to understand what our customers want more of and what they want less of,” he added.
The Washington Post expanded during the first several years after Mr Bezos took ownership of the newspaper, but has been having a hard time in recent years.


During an interview in late 2024, Mr Bezos said, “We saved The Washington Post once, and we’re going to save it a second time.”

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