The Washington Post, the more than 145-year-old newspaper which is owned by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has begun firing over one-third of its staff across all departments, sacked staff and paper executives said.

The changes were announced in a Zoom meeting with staff on Wednesday by executive editor Matt Murray, who according to US media, informed the staff that the paper would undergo "substantial" reductions in its newsroom, which previously comprised an estimated 800 journalists.

The decision has gutted several foreign bureaus, including the entire Middle East desk, Ukraine coverage, and others in places like Australia and India.

"Today I was laid off from my job covering Amazon for Jeff Bezos's Washington Post," Caroline O'Donovan, the Post’s Tech reporter covering Amazon, wrote on X.

"Nearly every story I published at The Post included the disclaimer 'Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.' That statement seems especially stark today," O'Donovan added.

Claire Parker, the paper’s Cairo bureau chief announced the entire Middle East desk, including correspondents and editors, have been sacked.

"Laid off from the Washington Post, along with the entire roster of Middle East correspondents and our editors. Hard to understand the logic. But I am grateful for my incredible colleagues, whose grit and dedication to the reporting and each other I will miss dearly," Parker posted on X.

US media reports suggested the layoffs are due to restructuring and financial issues, rather than dismissals based on individual performance.

Nevertheless, some notable departures involved dismissals due to controversies or ideological changes at the newspaper.

Race and ethnicity reporter Emmanuel Felton called the downsizing as an "ideological" decision rather than purely financial.

"I'm among the hundreds of people laid off by The Post. This comes six months after hearing in a national meeting that race coverage drives subscriptions. This wasn't a financial decision, it was an ideological one," Felton argued.

The cuts represent the most severe blow to the newsroom in recent memory, reducing the paper's capacity for sports, international, local, and cultural coverage while refocusing on politics and national security.

Jada Yuan, a national culture and entertainment writer for paper’s Style section, wrote on X, "I was laid off as part of the massive cuts at @washingtonpost. Thinking about my colleagues on the foreign desk living in war zones, and much of our arts team, and our readers. We’ll need your support and, as soon as the numbness passes, I’ll need work!"

In follow-up posts, she expressed heartbreak over the cuts, pride in her team's work despite limited resources, and sadness for affected colleagues, including those with newborns or in conflict zones.

She also noted reaching "the crying stage of layoffs."

She mentioned, "Some of my colleagues have newborns. Others are in war zones," while promoting a GoFundMe for the sacked staff.

"I’ve loved working with so many smart, dedicated writers and editors. Our arts team has done amazing work with a fraction of the resources of our competitors. I’m proud of having written some of the best-read entertainment stories at the paper. Democracy dies in darkness, indeed."

"Hundreds of our members have been laid off without rhyme or reason. Those who remain are reeling," said the The Washington Post Guild @PostGuild.

News of layoffs prompted a predictably critical statement from White House communications director, Stephen Cheung.

"Just a reminder that printing fake news is not a profitable business model. That's all. If you take offense to that statement, you should reevaluate your priorities."

'Self-inflicted brand destruction'

Numerous journalists impacted have used X to share memories of their time at The Washington Post and to seek new opportunities.

"It’s official: my time with The Washington Post has come to an end. If any media outlet needs a data-driven sportswriter who can produce millions of page views let me know. March Madness is coming up," sports journalist Neil Greenberg wrote on X.

Ishaan Tharoor, the foreign affairs columnist at The Washington Post, announced that he had been laid off "along with most of the International staff and so many other wonderful colleagues."

"I’m heartbroken for our newsroom and especially for the peerless journalists who served the Post internationally — editors and correspondents who have been my friends and collaborators for almost 12 years. It’s been an honor to work with them," he said.

He noted that he launched the WorldView column in January 2017 to help readers better understand the world and America’s place in it, and said he was grateful for the half a million loyal subscribers who tuned into the column several times a week over the years.

Anna Fifield, the Asia editor for The Post, said "it was an absolute privilege to work with people who are not only incredible journalists but also wonderful human beings."

"My heart breaks for everyone who lost their job today — and for the readers who will be the worse for it."

Former executive editor Marty Baron, who led the paper during its Bezos-era peak, publicly condemned the cuts as "one of the darkest days" in the paper's history and a case of "self-inflicted brand destruction."

Shared widely, including by journalists like Brian Stelter and Ben Mullin, Baron's statement called the mass cull of journalists among the "darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organizations."

Baron stated that the Washington Post’s "ambitions will be sharply diminished, its talented and brave staff will be further depleted, and the public will be denied the ground-level, fact-based reporting in our communities and around the world that is needed more than ever."