Washington Post's Global Carnage: Layoffs, Financial Woes, and India's 'Karmic Justice'

• The Washington Post, owned by Jeff Bezos, announced sweeping layoffs on February 4, 2026, axing over 300 employees, roughly a third of its newsroom, due to mounting financial losses.
• Key sections like sports, books, metro, and international coverage were gutted, with foreign bureaux in New Delhi, Sydney, and Cairo shuttered, drastically trimming the paper’s global footprint.
• Financial losses (USD$77M in 2023, USD$100M in 2024, USD$177M in 2025) and a subscriber exodus of over 250,000, partly due to controversial editorial decisions, are cited as reasons.
• From an Indian perspective, the layoffs are seen by some as 'karmic justice' for years of perceived skewed and hostile reporting against India, amplifying anti-India narratives.
• High-profile journalists like Ishaan Tharoor, Pranshu Verma, and Gerry Shih, whose reporting drew significant criticism in India for alleged bias and factual inaccuracies, were among those let go.