The Washington Post just dismantled its tech coverage at the worst possible moment. The Jeff Bezos-owned newspaper axed more than 300 staffers this week, cutting its tech, science, health and business team from 80 to 33 people. The tech desk alone lost 14 reporters, gutting its San Francisco bureau to a skeleton crew. Among the casualties: journalists covering Amazon, artificial intelligence, and Blue Origin—Bezos' own spaceflight company that depends on federal contracts.
The Washington Post is retreating from Silicon Valley just as tech billionaires consolidate unprecedented power over information, politics, and the global economy. The Amazon founder and Post owner Jeff Bezos signed off on layoffs this week that slashed the newspaper's tech coverage in half, cutting 14 reporters from a desk that once served as a critical watchdog over the industry.
The cuts hit at a moment when tech's influence has never been more pervasive. Machine learning and AI have infiltrated street corners, schools, factories, and farm fields. Seven of the world's 10 richest people built their fortunes in tech, according to Forbes. Bezos ranks third globally behind Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. Oracle's Larry Ellison, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer round out the list.
Yet as these executives amass king-like influence over geopolitics and economic policy, one of America's premier newspapers is pulling back its scrutiny. The Post's tech, science, health and business team was cut from 80 to 33 people as part of sweeping layoffs affecting more than 300 staffers, tech reporter Drew Harwell reported on X. The San Francisco bureau—once a vital outpost for covering the beating heart of the tech industry—now exists as a shell.
