According to multiple media outlets citing sources familiar with the matter, Amazon The company plans to cut up to 30,000 corporate jobs starting Tuesday. It is currently working to reduce expenses to offset the impact of over-hiring during the peak demand period of the pandemic.
In terms of numbers, this round of layoffs represents only a small fraction of Amazon's total global workforce of approximately 1.54 million, but it accounts for 10% of its approximately 350,000 corporate employees. This will be Amazon's largest layoff since it began laying off approximately 27,000 employees at the end of 2022.
Data from Layoffs.fyi, a website that tracks layoffs in the tech industry, shows that this planned round of layoffs will be the largest in the tech sector since at least 2020. As of Monday, more than 200 tech companies have laid off approximately 98,000 employees since the beginning of the year. Among tech giants, Microsoft has laid off a significant number of employees this year. Meta has already laid off approximately 15,000 employees; last week, Meta announced its artificial intelligence... The department cut approximately 600 jobs; earlier this month, Google cut more than 100 design-related positions in its cloud division; Salesforce. Intel announced in September that it would lay off 4,000 customer support staff, citing the increasing use of artificial intelligence as one of the driving factors behind the layoffs. This year's total layoffs reached 22,000, making it the company with the largest number of layoffs.
Sources familiar with the matter said Amazon is expected to begin notifying employees about the layoffs via email that morning.
Over the past two years, Amazon has cut small numbers of jobs across several divisions, including devices, communications, and podcasts. This week's new round of layoffs could affect multiple departments within Amazon, including Human Resources (People Experience and Technology), Devices & Services, and Operations. Sources familiar with the matter say the number of layoffs could change as Amazon adjusts its financial priorities.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is reportedly pushing forward an initiative to streamline the company's structure by reducing the number of managers to "reduce hierarchical levels and flatten the organization," thereby reducing "excessive bureaucracy" within the company. The company has established an anonymous complaint hotline to identify inefficiencies; the hotline has received approximately 1,500 responses and has driven over 450 process reforms.
In addition, Jassi stated in June that the increased use of artificial intelligence tools could lead to further layoffs, especially through the automation of repetitive, routine tasks.
Amazon shares rose 1.3% to $227.11 by Monday's close. The company plans to release its third-quarter earnings report on Thursday.
(Article source: CBN)
