The Washington Post lays off roughly 100 staffers as star journalists exit

New York (CNN) 鈥� The Washington Post on Tuesday laid off roughly 100 employees across its business division, the latest indication of the newspaper鈥檚 financial woes after subscribers and staffers revolted over owner Jeff Bezos鈥檚 decision to block an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris.

The cuts amounted to roughly 4% of the publication鈥檚 staff and did not affect the newsroom, a spokesperson for the Post said. The news, which was in the Status newsletter, comes as the beleaguered newspaper has hemorrhaged several high-profile journalists in recent weeks and top candidates pulled out of the running for the Post鈥檚 executive editor job.

鈥淭he Washington Post is continuing its transformation to meet the needs of the industry, build a more sustainable future and reach audiences where they are,鈥� a Post spokesperson told CNN. 鈥淐hanges across our business functions are all in service of our greater goal to best position The Post for the future.鈥�

The Post鈥檚 financial woes are nothing new. When Will Lewis, the Post鈥檚 publisher and chief executive, was named to the top job in , the storied paper was already reeling from the layoffs, readership decline, and high expenses that have hounded the entire industry. Yet, the extent to which the Post鈥檚 coffers had been sapped became apparent in , when Lewis revealed the paper had lost $77 million in 2023.

鈥淭o speak candidly,鈥� Lewis said in a May meeting, 鈥渨e are in a hole, and we have been for some time.鈥�

While Lewis offered a plan to right the ship at the time, the Post has since waded into deeper waters. Less than two weeks before the November election, Bezos, the billionaire Amazon founder who acquired the Post in 2013 for $250 million, of Harris, breaking with a decades-long tradition and resulting in the . At the time, Bezos defended the move, noting in an that 鈥減residential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election.鈥�

Speaking with Andrew Ross Sorkin at the Times鈥� DealBook Summit, Bezos said 鈥渋t was the right decision,鈥� adding that he was 鈥減roud鈥� of the choice.

鈥淭he advantage I bring to the Post is when they need financial resources, I鈥檓 available,鈥� Bezos joked on stage. 鈥淚鈥檓 the doting parent in that regard.鈥�

While Bezos is not the only during the 2024 election cycle, the Post鈥檚 finances have suffered from the move. In the days after Bezos blocked the endorsement, over , roughly 10% of the paper鈥檚 digital subscribers.

Inside The Post, the move ignited turmoil, leading to several recent high-profile defections.

In December, Matea Gold, the Post鈥檚 managing editor, shared she was leaving the Post for The New York Times. Last week, The Atlantic poached political reporters Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer, the Times scooped up White House reporter Tyler Pager, the Wall Street Journal nabbed investigative politics reporter Josh Dawsey, and Puck poached veteran journalist Leigh Ann Caldwell.

And, , Ann Telnaes, the Post鈥檚 Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, very publicly resigned from the outlet after the newspaper refused to publish a satirical cartoon depicting Bezos bending the knee before Trump.

The moves come as Bezos attempts to repair his relationship with the incoming president, dining last month with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and making a $1 million donation to his inaugural fund.

On Sunday, Amazon said it a documentary about first lady Melania Trump on its Prime Video platform later this year. Melania Trump will serve as an executive producer of the project, signaling that the documentary is being made with her full participation 鈥� and editorial control.