Jeff Bezos. (Photo by Stefano Guidi/Getty Images)
Last fall, Will Lewis went to Jeff Bezos with an outline of proposed cuts to The Washington Post. Lewis, who had assumed the role of chief executive officer and publisher of the newspaper in 2023, had struggled during his short and controversial tenure to reverse the outlet’s financial fortunes—and Bezos, who has long wanted the publication to stand on its own two feet, had grown tired of seeing continued losses. It was up to Lewis to identify cuts that would stem the bleeding and put the storied institution back on a path to prosperity.
But, according to people familiar with the matter, when Lewis presented Bezos with his proposed cuts, the Amazon and Blue Origin billionaire was not pleased by what he heard. The people familiar with the matter told Status that Bezos rejected the plan, delaying layoffs that had initially been slated for late 2025 (which readers will remember, we first reported on at the time).
But it was not only that Bezos rejected Lewis’ plan. Status has learned that Bezos was…
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