Washington Post layoffs spark outrage, Jeff Bezos’ $250-billion fortune in focus

The Washington Post on Wednesday laid off one-third of its workforce at the behest of its owner, Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos. Bezos is one of the richest people on the planet, with a net worth touching nearly $250 billion. He has maintained silence in recent weeks, not responding to pleas from Post journals to step in and prevent the job cuts.Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has not issued a statement on job cuts at his newspaper, The Washington Post. (AFP)Jeff Bezos’ role in delivering a brutal blow to one of journalism’s most legendary brands has made him the target of social media backlash.Backlash against Bezos“Jeff Bezos just fired hundreds of reporters at the Washington Post — including the Amazon reporter holding his OWN company accountable. Reminder: Jeff Bezos’ net worth is nearly $250,000,000,000,” wrote US Senator Elizabeth Warren.(Also read: Washington Post fires 300 employees, Shashi Tharoor’s son among them)Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote: “When Jeff Bezos bought WaPo, he immediately took control of the opinions section. Now, he’s laying off hundreds of journals, including those covering Amazon. This isn’t a coincidence. It’s the result of billionaires with vested political agendas taking over our media.”Martin Baron, the Post’s first editor under its current owner, billionaire Jeff Bezos, condemned his former boss and called what has happened at the newspaper “a case study in near-instant, self-inflicted brand destruction.”And former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the layoffs “part of a broader reprehensible pattern in which corporate decisions are hollowing out newsrooms across the country.”Senator Bernie Sanders joined the chorus of powerful voices criticizing Bezos. “If Jeff Bezos could afford to spend $75 million on the Melania movie & $500 million for a yacht to sail off to his $55 million wedding to give his wife a $5 million ring, please don’t tell me he needed to fire one-third of the Washington Post staff,” he wrote.‘Democracy killed in daylight’“Democracy Dies in Darkness is the official slogan and motto of the Washington Post. Jeff Bezos is killing it in broad daylight,” wrote one X user.“Always bears repeating that this is NOT ultimately a financial decision. Jeff Bezos is worth over 250 billion dollars. He can afford to lose many millions and never even notice it. This is, at its core, a political and personal decision Bezos to destroy the Post,” said The Nation editor Jack Mirkinson.