Washington Post union urges Jeff Bezos to sell after CEO exit

The unionised employees at "The Washington Post" expressed support for the sudden Saturday departure of the paper's CEO, Will Lewis, urging Jeff Bezos to sell the publication.

"The departure of Will Lewis was long overdue," said the Washington Post Guild's statement, shared on X. 

"His legacy will be remembered as an attack on a renowned American journalistic entity. However, there's still an opportunity to save The Post. Jeff Bezos should either revoke these layoffs immediately or find a buyer willing to invest in its future."

The Post union's representatives were not immediately available for comments when contacted by Business Insider.

On social media, reporters affected by layoffs expressed their delight over the news of Lewis leaving. Jada Yuan, who formerly wrote about culture for the Post, stated she was "never more excited to receive a news alert."

"Will Lewis, the elusive and ineffective publisher of @washingtonpost, has stepped down. Or was possibly dismissed," she remarked. "It’s unfortunate it occurred after he failed to even attend a Zoom meeting to lay off a third of the staff. Nevertheless, what's crucial is that he's no longer here."

The announcement of Lewis' exit came on Saturday afternoon, following the massive layoffs earlier this week that impacted numerous journalists at the historic publication.

The unionised workforce of the publication had organised a "Save the Post" protest earlier this week, drawing attention to Bezos and Lewis and warning about threats to press freedom and independent media, should legacy publications like the Post be forced to cease operations.