Tech multinational Amazon is planning to retrench over 18 000 employees, majority of those to be laid off work in Amazon stores and people experience and technology solutions (PXT) divisions.
Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy, announced the planned move today, as he gave employees the company’s roadmap for 2023.
In the memo, Jassy says leaders across the company “have been working with their teams and looking at their workforce levels, investments they want to make in the future, and prioritising what matters most to customers and the long-term health of our businesses”.
In his memo, Jassy says Amazon’s company review this year was more difficult “given the uncertain economy and that we’ve hired rapidly over the last several years”.
With the planned job cuts, Amazon has now joined growing list of tech companies that have in the past year shrunk their employee base.
Meta, Twitter, and Salesforce are some of the global giants that announced massive job cuts in 2022.
Today, Jassy shared the outcomes of these reviews saying, Amazon had come to “difficult decision” to cut its workforce further, after retrenchments in November, which saw the company eliminate positions across its Devices and Books businesses.
“Between the reductions we made in November and the ones we’re sharing today, we plan to eliminate just over 18,000 roles. Several teams are impacted; however, the majority of role eliminations are in our Amazon stores and PXT organisations”.
According to Jassy, Amazon’s senior team (S-team) is aware the negative impact the job cuts will have on people.
Amazon S-Team is a group of trusted leaders that meets regularly to discuss important decisions and dictate the direction of the company.
“S-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. 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,” says Jassy.
“We typically wait to communicate about these outcomes until we can speak with the people who are directly impacted. However, because one of our teammates leaked this information externally, we decided it was better to share this news earlier so you can hear the details directly from me. We intend on communicating with impacted employees (or where applicable in Europe, with employee representative bodies) starting on January 18”.
According to Jassy, Amazon has weathered 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’m also optimistic that we’ll be inventive, resourceful, and scrappy in this time when we’re not hiring expansively and eliminating some roles. Companies that last a long time go through different phases,” he says.
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