SAN FRANCISCO: Amazon confirmed on Thursday that it is laying off nearly 18,000 employees and that several teams will be affected, particularly Amazon stores as well as the People, Experience and Technology (PXT) organizations.
Amazon’s CEO said in a statement that they were not done with the annual planning process as previously noted, and that “I expected more role cuts in early 2023”.
“We generally wait to communicate these results until we can speak with those directly affected. However, because one of our partners leaked this information externally We decided it would be better to share this news first so you can hear the details straight from me,” Jesse said.
“We intend to communicate with affected employees (or with employee representative bodies, where applicable in Europe) from 18 January,” he said.
In November, reports emerged that the e-commerce giant is aiming to cut around 10,000 of its workforce.
In September 2022, the company said it had about 1.5 million employees in total.
Amazon previously acknowledged that it was consolidating “certain teams and programs” in its hardware and services division, and JC told workers that there would be “more role cuts” in 2023 as leaders continue to make adjustments.
This makes Amazon’s cut one of the largest cuts ever from a tech giant.
Meta announced last year that it was laying off about 11,000 employees, while chip maker Intel announced that they plan to make significant cuts throughout the year.
Google is also planning to lay off a large number of employees by early 2023.
Jesse said Amazon has faced uncertain and difficult economies in the past, and will continue to do so.
“These changes will help us pursue our long-term opportunities with a stronger cost structure; however, I am also optimistic that we will be inventive, resourceful and wasteful at a time when we are not hiring extensively and some Eliminating roles.” said the Amazon CEO.
He said the company is working to support those affected and is providing a package that includes a severance pay, transitional health insurance benefits and external job placement support.