Jeff Bezos has defended the major layoffs carried out at The Washington Post earlier this year, insisting the newspaper must remain financially sustainable despite his personal wealth.
The cuts affected several sections of the publication, including sports, metro, books, foreign correspondence and photojournalism, drawing criticism from media observers and readers.
Speaking during an interview with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin on Wednesday, Bezos responded to concerns over why he chose not to personally fund the struggling newspaper.
“The Post needs to be a profitable enterprise that stands on its own two feet,” Bezos said.
When asked why the paper could not simply operate as a public trust backed by his fortune, the billionaire argued that profitability reflects whether readers still value the product.
“Let me tell you why. It’s a measure of its relevance. If people won’t pay for our product, it’s not a good enough product,” he stated.
“It would be like poetry without rhyming. It’s too easy. So, it’s got to be something that people will pay for, because that’s a signal. It’s a signal that we’re providing a relevant service.”
Bezos also pointed to the financial success of The New York Times as proof that quality journalism can still generate strong revenue.
“You guys are doing very well financially, and you’re providing a service that people are willing to pay for. We can do that, too,” he told Sorkin, who also writes for the newspaper.
The Amazon founder revealed that he instructed management to rely on performance data while deciding where layoffs would happen, although he excluded investigative reporting from the cuts.
“And guess what I told them when we were planning those layoffs. I didn’t pick who was going to get laid off or which departments. I said, ‘Follow the data,’” Bezos explained.
“I said there is one exception to this… don’t follow the data on investigative reporting.”
According to him, investigative journalism remains central to the newspaper’s identity.
“Our newsroom today, after the layoffs, is still larger than when we did Watergate and the Pentagon Papers,” he said.
“The Post is going to continue to be an important institution, in fact, it’s going to be a more important institution because of this financial discipline.”
Bezos also highlighted the newspaper’s recent Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, awarded for coverage of the administration of Donald Trump.
“It needs to be relevant to readers, it needs to stand on its own two feet,” he added.
During the conversation, Sorkin questioned whether Bezos still wanted to own the publication, given his involvement in several other businesses.
Responding, Bezos recalled buying the newspaper in 2013 when it was already struggling financially.
“When I bought The Post, it was very unprofitable when I brought it. The newsroom was even smaller than it is today,” he said.
“We turned it around in two years, it was profitable for six years. I put all that money back in The Post and grew the newsroom, so we’ve shrunk it back some now.”
Bezos acknowledged that the media industry has changed significantly over the years and said the newspaper failed to adapt quickly enough to new realities.
The billionaire purchased The Washington Post for $250 million in 2013. While the paper experienced major growth during Trump’s first administration, it has faced declining subscriptions and multiple rounds of layoffs in recent years.
