Amazon Begins Job Cuts, Says Some Roles No Longer Required

Amazon began to implement job cuts, starting with devices and services division, citing difficult economy. The tech giant did not reveal the number of employees affected, but earlier this week, reports had said it was planning to lay off about 10,000 employees in corporate and technology roles.

In an email to employees, Dave Limp, Senior Vice President of Devices & Services, said, “After a deep set of reviews, we recently decided to consolidate some teams and programs. One of the consequences of these decisions is that some roles will no longer be required.”

He noted that the changes at the division, which makes products including Echo, Alexa, Fire, and Kindle devices, come as the company continues to face an unusual and uncertain macroeconomic environment.

The impacted employees were notified the previous day, and the company said it will continue to work closely with each individual to provide support, including assisting in finding new roles.

If employees cannot find a new role within Amazon, the firm will support the transition with a package that includes a separation payment, transitional benefits, and external job placement support.

Limp added that the company will continue to invent as the Devices & Services organization remains an important area of investment for Amazon.

The layoffs would represent less than 1 percent of Amazon’s global workforce and 3 percent of its corporate employees.

Amazon reported 798,000 employees at the end of 2019 but had 1.6 million full- and part-time employees as of December 31, 2021, a 102 percent increase.

Recently, some other tech firms also laid off thousands of employees. Meta announced last week that it will slash over 13 percent of its workforce, or more than 11,000 employees.

Twitter, which was recently acquired by Elon Musk in a $44 billion deal, laid off around half its workforce days after the takeover.

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