Staff at the Washington Post are preparing for layoffs as morale sinks amid a wave of high-profile exits from the Jeff Bezos-owned newspaper, according to a report. The anticipated cuts are expected to affect “many dozens” of employees in the business division, with an announcement potentially coming as early as this week.
The news follows Friday’s resignation of Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes, who left in protest of the Post’s decision not to publish a cartoon portraying Bezos and other billionaires as subservient to President Trump.
Another significant departure looms as political reporter Josh Dawsey plans to leave the Washington Post for a new role as political investigations reporter at The Wall Street Journal, starting next month. Known for his investigative reporting and scoops, Dawsey’s exit is the latest in a series of high-profile defections. Last month, Puck News reported that Dawsey and White House correspondent Tyler Pager were among several staffers considering or finalizing their departures from the Post.
Adding to the disruption, two senior political reporters, Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer, recently left the Post to join The Atlantic, owned by Laurene Powell Jobs. In October, two editorial board members resigned in protest of Bezos’ decision to block the newspaper’s endorsement of Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.
Bezos defended the move, claiming it was intended to strengthen the public’s perception of the Post’s impartiality. However, the decision angered readers, with reports indicating that up to 250,000 subscribers canceled their memberships in response. Bezos denied allegations that the decision was motivated by a desire to improve relations with Trump to protect his broader business interests.
Amid the turmoil, Amazon, the company Bezos founded, announced over the weekend that it secured exclusive rights to a documentary offering a behind-the-scenes look at the life of Melania Trump, the former and future first lady. This comes as Bezos reportedly seeks to repair relations with Trump, who frequently criticized him and the Washington Post during his first term.
Bezos, who stepped down as Amazon CEO in 2021 but remains its largest shareholder, recently donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund through Amazon. His efforts to rebuild ties with the incoming president follow Amazon’s previous legal battles with the Trump administration, including a lawsuit over the loss of a lucrative Pentagon cloud-computing contract awarded to Microsoft.
