Amazon plans to lay off thousands more towards 10% of the workforce in new cuts
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Amazon plans to cut thousands of jobs as part of a broader campaign to eliminate about 10% of its corporate workforce, according to Reuters.
After cutting about 14,000 jobs in October, Amazon is expected to introduce a second round of layoffs affecting the same number of workers, targeted at around 30,000 jobs, although the scope could change, according to two sources cited by Reuters.
If fully realized, the cuts would amount to the largest in Amazon’s history, surpassing the roughly 27,000 jobs the company is cutting in 2022.
According to Reuters, layoffs could begin as early as next week and affect employees across Amazon Web Services, retail, human resources (known internally as People Experience and Technology) and Prime Video.
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Amazon is preparing to cut thousands of corporate jobs by reducing the number of employees, according to a report. (Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Reuters reported that the e-commerce giant linked the October cuts to the rise of intelligence software, saying in an internal letter to employees that “this generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the internet, and it’s enabling companies to innovate faster than ever.”
Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, said last year that he expected the retailer’s workforce to shrink due to the potential of using AI.
But Jassy later told analysts during the company’s third earnings call that the layoffs were not financially driven or directly linked to AI, but the result of overmanagement, Reuters reported.
“You end up with more people than you had before, you end up with a lot of people,” said Jassy.
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Employees at the Amazon office in Bellevue, Washington, US, on Thursday, July 18, 2024. (Grant Hindsley/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
In an internal memo sent in October, Amazon told workers they could stay on pay for up to three months while they looked for other job opportunities.
“We are working hard to support everyone whose role is affected, including giving most employees 90 days to look for a new role internally (time will vary according to local laws), and our recruiting teams will prioritize candidates to help as many people as possible find new roles within Amazon,” the message said.
That 90-day window will expire on Monday.
Jassy also launched a program last year to reduce the number of managers at the company by creating an anonymous complaint line to identify inefficiencies, which he said generated about 1,500 responses and led to more than 450 changes.
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Amazon plans to cut its corporate workforce by thousands as it streamlines operations and reduces internal controls, according to a report. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Amazon did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
FOX Business’ Bonny Chu and Pilar Arias contributed to this report.
