Amazon laid off thousands more employees Wednesday as it continues to make the biggest job cuts in its history, just months after a first round of 10,000 job losses.
The Seattle Times reported that Amazon had made staff cuts in its human resources division and stores division. The company is also expected to lay off approximately 8,000 more employees. Bloomberg reports that Amazon’s global retail chief Doug Herrington stated in a memo that the company would notify employees via email on Wednesday.
Amazon will lay off more than 18,000 employees
Amazon made about 10,000 job cuts in November when it began laying off employees from its devices organization, retail division, and human resources divisions.
Andy Jassy, Amazon’s CEO, announced that the company would lay off more than 18,000 employees between the November reductions and the ones shared today. Jassy stated that additional layoff notifications would be sent out on Jan. 18th.
USA TODAY was not informed by Amazon about the number of cuts that would be made to specific departments. However, Jassy stated previously that most were made in Amazon Stores and PXT organizations (People, Experience, and Technology).
What number of employees does Amazon employ?
Amazon had more than 1.5 million employees in October 2022.
What does Amazon have to say about layoffs?
Jassy stated in his Jan. 4, note that the company would provide severance packages for affected employees. This includes separation payments, transitional insurance benefits, and support for job placement.
“Amazon has been able to weather uncertain and difficult economic times in the past and will continue to do so. These changes will allow us to pursue our long-term potential with a stronger cost structure,” said he. “But, I am optimistic that we will be creative, resourceful, and scrappy in this period when we aren’t hiring excessively or eliminating certain roles. Companies that are successful for a long period will go through various phases. They don’t go through heavy expansion every year.
Amazon, Microsoft, and other tech companies have laid off employees
Amazon’s announcement comes on the heels of Microsoft’s announcement that it will reduce its workforce by 10,000 people in the third quarter (2023 fiscal year) (ending March 31).
These aren’t all the tech companies that have recently laid off employees. Layoffs estimate that there were at most 154,000 layoffs last year from over 1,000 tech companies. FYI is a website that tracks tech layoffs from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in March 2020.
Post Title: Amazon announces the next round of layoffs as tech giant reduces more than 18,000 jobs
Posted Date: January 22, 2023
Author: USA Jobs