United States: The Amazon CEO Mr. Andy Jassy has announced that the company aims to shed more than 18,000 jobs as it cuts costs.
According to the CEO, the layoff decisions will largely impact the company’s e-commerce and human resources organizations.
The cuts amount to around 6 percent of the firm’s roughly 300,000-strong corporate workforce.
“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,” Mr. Jassy remarked in the statement.
The tech giant’s boss further added that “Amazon has weathered uncertain and difficult economies in the past, and we will continue to do so.”
According to the CEO, the “majority of role eliminations” would be in the Amazon Stores, including Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go, as well as their people, experience, and technology teams. The company’s employees impacted by these job cuts will be informed as early as January 18.
Earlier, in November 2022, the firm announced that it would focus on reducing expenses in its annual review of business operations.
Previously, Amazon introduced a hiring freeze and stopped some of its warehouse expansions, claiming that it had overhired during the pandemic.
The tech industry shed more than 150,000 workers in 2022, according to the tracking site Layoffs.fyi.
The firm has also taken steps to shut down some parts of its business, cancelling projects such as a personal delivery robot.