Last Thursday, at least a half-dozen staffers on The Bezos Post’s opinion desk were canned via email from the section’s new editor, Adam O’Neal. The note, which surprised some of its recipients, informed them that their positions had been “impacted as part of our organizational change.” (Apparently this "editor" can't speak in plain English.) Via STATUS:

"Please know that this decision was not made lightly and came after careful consideration of many factors, including the evolving needs of the section," O'Neal wrote, according to a copy of one email obtained by Status. "We appreciate your contributions to the company."

The move further hollowed out The Post’s opinion pages, cutting editors like Benjy Sarlin from its roster, along with several others, according to people familiar with the matter. Contractors were not spared either. I’m told that legendary journalist Marc Fisher, who had worked for The Post for nearly four decades and had recently moved to a contract, was cut. As was Pulitzer Prize winner David Hoffman, the well-respected media critic Jack Shafer, and economic columnist Heather Long—all of whom had their contracts ended, according to people familiar with the matter.

The layoffs followed a round of buyouts that O’Neal—who one person familiar with the matter told me has conveyed to people he never plans to have another job in journalism because he expects to remain in his current role for many decades—had quietly pushed in private meetings, signaling to several veteran columnists that their work no longer aligned with his still-hazy editorial vision.

Suffice it to say, the layoffs did not go over well—particularly because they were executed on Yom Kippur. Some staffers, I’m told, were observing the holiday when they received word they’d lost their jobs—an unusual move, given that employers don’t typically inform staffers that they’re being laid off during a religious observance. I’m told some Post employees complained to the paper’s human resources chief, Wayne Connell, about the matter and were told that he would speak to O’Neal about it.

While O'Neal insisted this was all about "intellectual diversity," his first move was to hire wingnuts from the National Review, The Spectator, and the Boston Globe AND he plans to host a video blog with the achingly logic-challenged Megan McArdle. LOL