Amazon to Lay Off 9,000 More Employees in Effort to Become a Leaner Business
Amazon.com will lay off 9,000 more employees in the coming weeks, CEO Andy Jassy said in a memo to staff on Monday, reports CNBC. The cuts are on top of the previously announced layoffs that began in November and extended into January. That round totaled more than 18,000 employees, and primarily affected staffers in its retail, devices, recruiting and human resources groups. The latest round is expected to impact Amazon’s cloud computing, advertising, human resources and Twitch units, although company leadership isn't yet finished making final decisions on precisely which roles will be impacted. Twitch CEO Dan Clancy said approximately 400 people would be let go as part of Amazon’s latest round of job cuts.
Total Retail's Take: Amazon is undergoing the largest layoffs in company history after it went on a hiring spree during the COVID pandemic. Job cuts are widespread in the technology industry as companies like Zoom, Yahoo, Twitter, and Meta realize they can't sustain the explosive growth experienced during the pandemic. The company’s global workforce swelled to more than 1.6 million by the end of 2021, up from 798,000 in the fourth quarter of 2019. Amazon is looking to streamline its business and reduce costs amidst an uncertain economic environment.
"The overriding tenet of our annual planning this year was to be leaner while doing so in a way that enables us to still invest robustly in the key long-term customer experiences that we believe can meaningfully improve customers’ lives and Amazon as a whole," said CEO Andy Jassy. Amazon also froze hiring in its corporate workforce, axed some experimental projects and slowed warehouse expansion. Jassy said he remains optimistic about the company’s “largest businesses,” retail and Amazon Web Services, as well as other new divisions that continue to warrant investment.
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Kristina Stidham is the digital content director at Total Retail and sister brands Women in Retail Leadership Circle and Women Leading Travel & Hospitality at NAPCO Media. She is passionate about digital media and handles video, podcast and virtual event production for all brands. You can often find her at WIRLC, TR, WLT&H or industry events with her camera and podcasting equipment—or at home on Zoom—recording interviews with thought leaders and business executives.
Kristina holds a B.A. in Media Studies and Production from the Temple University Klein College of Media and Communication in Philadelphia. Go Owls! When she's not in the office, she loves to go on long walks, sing around the house, hangout with her family and two pet guinea pigs, and travel to new places.
