As part of its strategy to cut its staff by about 18,000 people, Amazon has begun notifying employees who would be affected by its latest wave of layoffs. The decision, which follows a prior round of layoffs, is part of a particularly unpleasant day for IT workers; on Wednesday, Microsoft also revealed that it is shedding roughly 10,000 jobs, and its CEO has forecast that the digital revolution has 2 important years ahead.
Amazon began its first round of layoffs in November. Around 10,000 workers, including employees from its hardware and services, human resources, and retail divisions, were said to be impacted at the time.
Although the precise number of workers affected during this round is unknown, the corporation let go 2,300 people in Washington, based on the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification system of the state. The most of them are employed in Seattle, which is home to one of the business’s headquarters.
The largest e-commerce company in the world is battling slowing online sales growth and preparing for a potential recession that may reduce its consumers’ purchasing power. Microsoft Corp., the latest in a long line of big companies to slash its ranks, revealed on Wednesday that it was eliminating 10,000 jobs.
Microsoft Is Allegedly Planning To lay off over 10,000 Employees
Amazon acknowledged the large scope of the layoffs in January, stating that a total of 18,000 staff would be impacted by them, taking into account the cuts from last year, this round, and any potential future ones in 2023. Employees who might be affected were to be informed beginning on the 18th, according to a memo from CEO Andy Jassy that was published on the business’ website.
According to memos Doug Herrington, head of global retail, and Beth Galetti, head of human resources, delivered to staff members, anyone working in the US, Canada, and Costa Rica should be aware by the end of Wednesday. After the Chinese New Year, perhaps in late January or early February, workers in China will have to wait. The company stated in the November letter that it will be in touch with employee representation organisations in various European nations concerning the layoffs, and this was reaffirmed in the notes on Wednesday.
US employees will receive a “60-day non-working transitional period with full pay and benefits, plus an additional several weeks of severance depending on the length of time with the company, a separation payment, transitional benefits, and external job placement support,” according to Herrington’s memo. He claims that the budget cuts are a part of “a broader effort to reduce our cost to serve so we can keep investing in the broad selection, low prices, and quick shipping that our customers love.”
Amazon reported that its sales had increased by 15% from the previous year in October, thanks in part to its “largest Prime Day event ever” in July. The business will probably release its Q4 earnings at the beginning of the following month. It obtained a $8 billion loan at the beginning of January to be utilised for basic company needs.
In terms of numbers, Amazon’s employment cuts are among the biggest in the sector, but the company is far from the only one. Major corporations like Meta, Snap, DoorDash, and of course, Microsoft, have all said that they intend to lay off tens of thousands of employees between 2022 and 2023. Big Tech companies have let off about 60,000 employees in the last year, according to CNBC and TrueUp’s tech layoff tracker, while the sector as a whole has had close to 300,000 layoffs since 2022.
