The Washington Post began widespread layoffs affecting all departments, cutting roughly a third of its staff, reported Reuters, citing the Washington-Baltimore News Guild union on Wednesday. According to the New York Times, the number is close to 300 employees.

The newsroom will lose "hundreds" of employees, including positions on the international, editing, metro, and sports desks. The cuts come shortly after the paper scaled back coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics amid financial pressures, as announced by Executive Editor Matt Murray, who called it the “darkest days” in the history of the organization.

The Post confirmed the news to Reuters, citing “difficult but decisive” actions. Bezos purchased the newspaper from the Graham family in 2013 for $250 million.

In February 2025, The Washington Post rejected an ad campaign targeting Elon Musk, a move that has sparked controversy.
Common Cause, an advocacy group, had planned a provocative “Fire Elon Musk” ad campaign, which was rejected by The Washington Post. This decision was made despite the group having entered a $115,000 deal with the publication for the ad campaign.

Trump, later, publicly praised Jeff Bezos for the changes he has implemented at the newspaper.