Amazon To Lay Off 18,000 Employees
‘We don’t take these decisions lightly or underestimate how much they might affect the lives of those who are impacted,’ Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in an online post Wednesday.
Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon Web Services parent company Amazon, said that the company plans to lay off “just over 18,000” employees with cuts expected in the coming weeks and factoring in layoffs from November.
In a post on Seattle-based Amazon’s website, Jassy said that the majority of the cuts will be at Amazon stores and the People, Experience and Technology (PXT) organization—Amazon’s human resources department. The company had more than 1.5 million employees as of September.
Amazon’s senior leadership team “and I are deeply aware that these role eliminations are difficult for people, and we don’t take these decisions lightly or underestimate how much they might affect the lives of those who are impacted,” Jassy said in the post. “We are working to support those who are affected and are providing packages that include a separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and external job placement support.”
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Amazon To Lay Off 18,000 Employees
CRN has reached out to Amazon for comment.
Jassy said that Amazon will start communicating with affected employees on Jan. 18. However, he released a statement on Amazon’s website because “one of our teammates leaked this information externally.”
The Wall Street Journal reported on the cuts Wednesday and said they would focus on the devices, recruiting and retail operations.
Amazon made job cuts in November to its devices and books businesses and made a “voluntary reduction offer” for employees in the PXT organization, Jassy said.
The job cuts come after Amazon executives told investors about customers “cutting their budgets and trying to save money in the short run” during the company’s most recent quarterly earnings call in October. Fellow cloud giant Microsoft also reported some difficulties during the quarter as business leaders watch for a recession in the U.S. amid rising interest rates to control inflation.
Both companies are expected to release quarterly earnings later this month.
Other vendors with recently reported plans for layoffs include Salesforce, HP Inc., Intel, Elastic, Aqua Security, AvePoint and N-able.
On social media network LinkedIn, users who posted about getting laid off from Amazon or accepting a voluntary release include a human resources specialist, a senior product manager for future device designs, a technical sourcing recruiter for Amazon Music, a sourcing recruiter for Amazon software development engineers and a talent acquisition manager.
In his online post Wednesday, Jassy said that the company’s long-term health is still strong.
“Amazon has weathered uncertain and difficult economies in the past, and we will continue to do so,” he wrote. “These changes will help us pursue our long-term opportunities with a stronger cost structure; However, I’m also optimistic that we’ll be inventive, resourceful and scrappy in this time when we’re not hiring expansively and eliminating some roles.”