What Amazon has said about 'largest downsizing in history' as 30,000 reported to lose jobs
Amazon is laying off almost five percent of its corporate workforce.
The move is expected to make the retail giant, founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and now worth $2.42 trillion, 'even stronger,' a senior company executive has said.
It comes as Amazon prepares to report record third-quarter sales of about $179 billion (£134 billion) on Thursday.
The company's 1.55 million-strong workforce is made up mostly of warehouse workers, who will not be impacted by the latest round of cuts.
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Reuters reported that affected departments might include HR; operations, devices and services; and Amazon Web Services - and sources close to the matter previously told the publication some 30,000 jobs would be eliminated.
That would make the cuts Amazon's largest downsizing in history: it shut 27,000 positions in late 2022.
However, in a note shared with employees on Tuesday (October 28), the company confirmed the true number of lay-offs.
As the restructure involves 'reducing in some areas and hiring in others,' a total of 14,000 'reductions' will be made.
'Biggest bets'
Beth Galetti, a senior vice president at Amazon, explained in the note that the move would make the retail giant 'even stronger' by shifting resources 'to ensure we're investing in our biggest bets and what matters most to our customers' current and future needs'.
'Most' employees are being given three months to find a new role within Amazon, while those 'choosing' to leave are being supported including 'severance pay, outplacement services, health insurance benefits, and more'.
The note said Amazon expects 'to continue hiring in key strategic areas' while also finding places 'we can remove layers... and realize efficiency gains'.
Artificial Intelligence
Anticipating questions surrounding the timing of the cuts and why they're happening when the company is performing so well, Galetti commented on artificial intelligence and how 'the world is changing quickly'.
"This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet, and it's enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before," she explained in the employee note.
"We're convicted that we need to be organized more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership, to move as quickly as possible for our customers and business," she added.
Back in June, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the increased use of AI tools would likely lead to further job cuts, with repetitive and routine tasks instead being automated.
Five-day office weeks
Meanwhile sources told Reuters that a five-day, office-based working week was recently imposed but failed to get workers seated at on-site desks.
This is reportedly one of the reasons behind the size of the new round of job cuts, according to sources cited by the publication.
They further claimed that employees not heading into corporate offices due to distance or other factors are being told they have voluntarily quit Amazon and must leave without severance.
UNILAD had contacted Amazon for comment.
Topics: Amazon, Artificial Intelligence, Business, Jobs, US News, Money, Technology
Ellie Kemp