Amazon to Layoff More Employees as It Navigates The Uncertain Economy

E-commerce giant Amazon has announced plans to lay off more of its workforce as it seeks to navigate the current uncertain economy.

The company’s Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy disclosed this in a company memo seen by Investors King. According to the memo, the layoffs would occur in the coming weeks and will mostly affect Amazon Web Services (AWS), People Experience and Technology Solutions (PXT), Advertising, and Twitch live streaming service group.

The memo reads,

“As we have just concluded the second phase of our operating plan (”OP2”) this past week, I’m writing to share that we intend to eliminate about 9,000 more positions in the next few weeks mostly in AWS, PXT, Advertising, and Twitch. This was a difficult decision, but one that we think is best for the company in the long run. As part of our annual planning process, leaders across the company work with their teams to decide what investments they want to make for the future, prioritizing what matters most to customers and the long-term health of our businesses.

“For several years leading up to this one, most of our businesses added a significant amount of headcount. This made sense given what was happening in our businesses and the economy as a whole. However, given the uncertain economy in which we reside, and the uncertainty that exists in the near future, we have chosen to be more streamlined in our costs and headcount”.

Jassy further added that these role reductions were not announced with the ones that happened months ago, stating that some teams were not done with their analyses in the late fall, and rather than rush through assessments without the appropriate diligence, the company chose to share it latest decision with the team members to keep them updated on the recent happenings.

The recent job cuts at Amazon would mark the largest round of layoffs in the company’s history, adding to the 18,000 employees that were laid off in January.

Investors King understands that the e-commerce giant doubled its hiring during the covid-19 pandemic to meet demand from customers that were increasingly buying stuff from their online store following the lockdown restriction. But as the pandemic eased, there was a significant slowdown in demand which forced Amazon to pause its warehouse expansion.

Amazon’s latest second round of layoff follows a similar move by Facebook parent company Meta after the social media giant which is on a laying-off spree announced plans to cut extra 10,000 jobs this year and instituted a hiring freeze, having already announced 11,000 job cuts in November last year.

Following the incessant layoff of workers in the tech industry, reports disclose that tech firms laid off more than 150, 000 workers globally, with further 139,000 layoffs already announced in 2023.