New Delhi, Feb. 8 -- Will Lewis announced on Saturday that he's stepping down as the publisher of The Washington Post. The announcement came three days after the newspaper said that it was laying off one-third of its staff.

Lewis sent an email to the Post's staff, saying that "difficult decisions have been taken in order to ensure the sustainable future of The Post."

In a message to staff that was shared online by the newspaper's White House bureau chief, Matt Viser, Will Lewis thanked the newspaper's billionaire owner Jeff Bezos and said, ".now is the right time for me to step aside.

The Post's chief financial officer, Jeff D'Onofrio, was named acting publisher and CEO. He joined the newspaper only last June.

The British-born Lewis w...