The Washington Post began 2023 under the threat of layoffs and a bitter war between its publisher and staff. A surprise visit from its billionaire owner this week has only seemed to add more uncertainty to the mix.
Jeff Bezos’ presence at a morning editorial meeting on Thursday was a surprise to many staffers, underscoring just how enigmatic the former Amazon CEO has become to the newsroom staff in recent years, as the Post has faced everything from financial crises to staff departures to internal eruptions. The timing of his arrival, as well as his refusal to comment on impending layoffs announced last month by publisher Fred Ryan, set off a fresh wave of panic among some in the newsroom, multiple staffers who spoke with The Daily Beast relayed.
“[People] don’t know what to make of it,” one Post journalist told The Daily Beast.
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Bezos’ rare appearance at the morning meeting was preceded by rumors over whether he would actually show up, multiple staffers told The Daily Beast. Once there, Bezos tried to calm the waters, reinforcing to Post staffers—including those observing through a Zoom link—that he valued the newsroom’s work.
“I’m delighted to be here and see all of these faces,” he said while seated beside executive editor Sally Buzbee, according to multiple people familiar with the meeting. “Thanks for letting me listen in.”
“Jeff is visiting The Post this week and meeting with Fred Ryan, Sally Buzbee and other members of the staff,“ a rep for the Post wrote in an email. The spokesperson confirmed the layoffs were still scheduled for the first quarter, though they did not provide a more specific timeframe.
The meeting, which was also attended and quietly observed by Ryan, proceeded as usual, with editors relating stories of the day. Some stories directly touched upon Bezos’ interests, such as Amazon’s announcement that it would end its philanthropic endeavor Amazon Smile, and were described with Bezos in the room, as first reported by The New York Times. A source familiar with the situation confirmed those details to The Daily Beast.
But his overall presence did little to quell fears among staffers on whether the previously announced layoffs were set to arrive this week, particularly as Bezos met privately with newsroom leaders. Staffers described an abundance of rumors floating among newsroom staffers, swinging wildly between imminent layoffs, delayed layoffs, or altogether substituting layoffs for a layoff-by-attrition model, where the newsroom would simply not fill positions after staffers depart.
“I’m convinced this is going to be a protracted, painful wait for a lot of people,” another Post journalist said.
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That uncertainty made its way to Bezos directly, according to the Times. One Post staffer dressed in a red shirt emblazoned with the newsroom guild’s insignia approached Bezos and asked why the paper planned to lay people off as opposed to offering buyouts. Bezos demurred, according to the Times, and said he sought to listen instead of answering questions.
The stand-off came a day after the guild sent an email to its members to notify them of Bezos’ presence on Thursday and urged them to brandish guild apparel. Some staffers also brandished the guild insignia as their Zoom icons during the meeting, according to a source.
“We want him to see that Post employees are a powerful and united front,” guild leadership wrote, noting it had 675 dues-paying members.
“It’s a testament to the strength of our solidarity and the power of our organizing—and it should serve as a reminder to Bezos that employees demand a say in shaping the future of this newspaper.”
But Bezos’ passive statement underscored a past history of involvement—and investment—in the Post’s operations, including a working relationship with its top editor. Bezos and the paper’s most recent editor, Marty Baron, maintained a communicative relationship even as the paper continuously reported on Amazon, with Bezos attending a newsroom birthday party for Baron, as The Daily Beast previously reported. When Bezos would attend a Post morning meeting helmed by Baron, the billionaire owner would sit beside him, just as he did next to Buzbee on Thursday, a source said.
But any relationship between Buzbee and Bezos, if one exists, has been muted at best. Staffers speculated last month that Ryan had acted as a gatekeeper to any relationship between the two, evidenced by Buzbee’s delayed awareness that the publisher would announce layoffs during a newsroom town hall.
Bezos’ position of listening rather than answering, however, has been publicly broadcast, if only by proxy. In a conversation with The New Yorker earlier this month, Post associate editor Bob Woodward said he had spoken to Bezos and believed he understood there was trouble that needed his attention.
“I know he's in a listening mode about what people think, what those troubles are, where they come from,” Woodward told editor David Remnick. “I know him well enough. He's not an impulsive person but can be very thorough. There is an awareness, that he has and other levels in and outside The Post that some repair work needs to be done.”
What that repair work entails remains uncertain, as Bezos broadcast no personnel plans in Thursday’s meeting. He did, however, further reiterate how grateful he was to those in the stress-addled newsroom, even as it worried who would be shown the door.
“I’d like to express my gratitude to everyone in this room and everyone in the newsroom,” he said at the meeting’s close. “It’s obvious how talented everyone in this newsroom is.”
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