A group of Washington Post foreign correspondents sent a “collective plea” to owner Jeff Bezos amid rumors mass layoffs are looming at the legacy newspaper.
“We are … writing with a collective plea for you to preserve our newspaper’s global coverage, which we fear will be greatly weakened in coming cuts.” the group began. “Robust, powerful foreign coverage is essential to The Washington Post’s brand and its future success in whatever form the paper takes moving forward.”
The reporters touted the paper’s coverage, which they noted “regularly scoops and outshines the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other major news outlets.”
“Cutting this deeply sourced, battled-hardened and tireless staff would hinder The Post’s ability to respond to the biggest news developments on the horizon,” the letter continued.
The letter also noted the team is “committed to finding ways to reduce our costs even further and are eager to work with management to do so while retaining as many jobs as we can.”
“Jeff, we are endlessly grateful for our investment in our newspaper and your longtime belief in our shared message,” they began the concluding paragraph. “We urge you consider how the proposed layoffs will certainly lead us first to irrelevance and later extinction — not the shared success that remains attainable. Thank you for reading and we look forward to hearing from you soon.”
The Post cancelled the paper’s coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics Friday.
“As we assess our priorities for 2026, we have decided not to send a contingent to the Winter Olympics,” Managing Editor Kimi Yosino wrote in a memo shared by Semafor’s Max Tani. “We realize this decision and its timing will be disappointing to many of you, so please reach out to me if you want to talk further.”
Newsroom management is also expected to make staff cuts in February, the second year in a row the Post has experienced Q1 layoffs.
