Spent $75 million on Melania movie: Bernie Sanders shreds Bezos over WaPo layoffs
Bernie Sanders questioned The Washington Post layoffs, contrasting them with owner Jeff Bezos's lavish spending on a Melania film, yacht, wedding, and ring.
US Senator Bernie Sanders launched a blistering attack on billionaire Jeff Bezos following the sweeping layoffs at The Washington Post, questioning the claim of financial distress to justify the move. Sanders pointed to Bezos’s recent lavish personal spending as evidence that the cuts were driven by choice rather than necessity.
“If Jeff Bezos could afford to spend USD 75 million on the Melania movie and USD 500 million for a yacht to sail off to his USD 55 million wedding and give his wife a USD 5 million ring, please don’t tell me he needed to fire one-third of The Washington Post staff,” Sanders wrote on social media.
He ended his critique by declaring, “Democracy dies in oligarchy,” a pointed twist on the newspaper’s slogan, 'Democracy Dies in Darkness,' adopted shortly after Bezos purchased the paper in 2013.
In one of the most significant shake-ups in its history, The Washington Post on Wednesday laid off more than 300 employees worldwide -- roughly one-third of its newsroom and broader staff -- in a sweeping restructuring that has sent shockwaves through the global journalism community.
The cuts, described by current and former staffers as a “bloodbath” and “the darkest day,” mark one of the deepest reductions in newsroom personnel at a major American newspaper. Executive Editor Matt Murray, who announced the job cuts, characterised the move as a “strategic reset” for the loss-making organisation.
The layoffs have hit multiple desks and verticals, including sports, the long-running books section, and international coverage. Several foreign bureaus have been shut down or significantly downsized, with correspondents in regions such as the Middle East and Ukraine reportedly disbanded.
The newspaper’s daily podcast and certain long-form verticals have also been discontinued as part of the cost-cutting measures.
Among those affected were Ishaan Tharoor, a global affairs columnist and anchor of The Post’s WorldView column on international politics, and Delhi Bureau Chief Pranshu Verma. The cuts extended beyond reporting roles, impacting editing, business, and audio teams. In total, more than 300 newsroom employees were laid off.
The layoffs drew sharp criticism from politicians, media observers and former staffers, who questioned both the scale of the cuts and the rationale behind them.
The Washington Post Guild, the union representing the staff, slammed the decision as a "failure of leadership," noting that the workforce has shrunk by nearly 400 people in just three years.
Martin Baron, the paper's former executive editor, bluntly called the layoffs a "case study in near-instant, self-inflicted brand destruction". Other prominent voices also condemned the cuts, arguing that hollowing out newsrooms weakens democracy.
Jeff Bezos, who bought the newspaper in 2013 for USD 250 million from the Graham family, has overseen several strategic pivots as the publication navigates the challenges of the post-print era.