Jeff Bezos grew increasingly frustrated with Will Lewis after learning the now-former Washington Post CEO and publisher had traveled to San Francisco for Super Bowl-related events while the newspaper was carrying out sweeping layoffs, according to the Financial Times.
The FT Saturday that Lewis’ presence at the festivities was viewed internally as the final break in an already strained relationship between Lewis and both newsroom staff and ownership. One newsroom source told the outlet that Bezos “lost patience after the Super Bowl thing.”
Representatives for the Post and Bezos did not immediately respond Sunday to requests for comment.
Lewis stepped down Saturday evening as chief executive and publisher, ending a turbulent tenure marked by cost-cutting, newsroom unrest and declining morale.
According to the Times, senior Post managers reacted angrily after discovering Lewis was in San Francisco around the time the newspaper announced the elimination of roughly 300 jobs. The reductions shuttered the paper’s sports and books sections and significantly cut metro and international reporting positions.
“Senior management at The Post were livid when they discovered that Lewis was attending festivities around the Super Bowl in San Francisco around the time of the news of the jobs cuts,” a source told FT, adding that the move was seen as “callous.”
Lewis’ travel was noticed publicly by Post journalists on social media, further fueling internal anger during a week already described by staff as devastating.
The Times also reported that Lewis had steadily lost the confidence of the newsroom following his handling of a separate controversy last month involving reporter Hannah Natanson. Staff were upset that Lewis did not publicly defend Natanson after the FBI searched her home and seized electronic devices, and many viewed the raid as an escalation in pressure on the press by President Trump, according to the report.
Tensions deepened further during the most recent layoffs, the Financial Times said, with senior editors criticizing Lewis for a lack of transparency and engagement with staff as the cuts unfolded.
In a statement issued Saturday, Bezos did not mention Lewis by name.
“The Post has an essential journalistic mission and an extraordinary opportunity,” Bezos said. “Each and every day our readers give us a roadmap to success. The data tells us what is valuable and where to focus.”
Chief financial officer Jeff D’Onofrio was named interim CEO and publisher. D’Onofrio joined the Post in June 2025 after previously serving as chief executive of Tumblr.
In a message to staff shared publicly, D’Onofrio acknowledged it had been a “hard week” and said he was focused on guiding the paper toward a “sustainable, successful future.”
