Bezos Defends Washington Post Layoffs, Says Paper Must Turn Profit

Billionaire Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos defended the paper's earlier layoffs on Wednesday, saying the newsroom must stay relevant and turn a profit regardless of his personal wealth.

Several departments were cut sharply, including sports, metro and books, along with foreign correspondents and photojournalists. The reductions surprised the media industry even though the paper's financial losses had been widely known.

Bezos spoke with CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin, who asked why the owner did not subsidize the business instead of cutting staff. "The Post needs to be a profitable enterprise that stands on its own two feet," Bezos replied. He is among the world's richest people with an estimated net worth of about $270 billion, according to Forbes.

Sorkin noted that some people believe the paper should operate as a trust. "Let me tell you why," Bezos said. "It's a measure of its relevance. If people won't pay for our product, it's not a good enough product."

He compared the situation to poetry without rhyme. "It's too easy," Bezos said. "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 pointed to The New York Times, where Sorkin also works as a financial columnist, and said the Times earns strong profits by offering content readers will pay for. "We can do that, too," he said.

Bezos said he told editors during the layoff planning to follow the data when choosing cuts, with one exception. "Don't follow the data on investigative reporting," he said. He described investigative work as the heart of the paper and said the unit would continue to grow.

"Our newsroom today, after the layoffs, is still larger than when we did Watergate and the Pentagon Papers," Bezos 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."

The paper recently won a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its coverage of the Trump administration's efforts to reshape the federal government. Bezos said the Post must remain relevant to readers and stand on its own financially.

Sorkin asked whether Bezos still wanted to own the paper, noting his other business interests. Bezos said he bought the paper in 2013 for $250 million when it was unprofitable and the newsroom was smaller than it is now. He said the paper became profitable within two years and stayed that way for six years before he reinvested the earnings to expand the staff. The newsroom has since been reduced but remains larger than when he bought it.

Bezos said the paper had not adapted quickly enough to a changing news environment. The Post grew during the first Trump administration but has faced subscriber losses and staff cuts in recent years.