Internal Amazon messages suggest the company's latest round of layoffs has been more widespread than what has been previously made public, affecting roles in Amazon Pay and marketing.
An employee's message on an internal Slack group seen by Business Insider said some Amazon Pay employees received an email from a director on Monday telling them to stay home, and some were laid off on Tuesday.
"We regularly review the structure of our teams and make adjustments based on the needs of the business and, following a recent review, we've made the difficult decision to eliminate a small number of roles on our Amazon Pay team. We're grateful to these employees for their contributions, and we're committed to supporting them through this transition," an Amazon spokesperson told BI.
Amazon said the impacted employees received 60 days of pay, were eligible for a severance package, and had access to job-placement support.
"Amazon Pay seems to be focused on our account management, solution architect[s], and sales roles," the employee wrote in a subsequent message about the type of jobs that were cut. "Technical account management is completely gone."
"A few marketing roles were cut as well," another employee said. "These roles were completely separate from the Twitch/Prime Video layoffs."
Amazon laid off thousands of employees in 2023, starting with an announcement last January that it would cut 18,000 roles. Some Amazon employees have noticed an increasing number of Slack messages from colleagues who are quitting over the company's strict return-to-office mandate.
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FAQs
Conclusion. Amazon's layoffs stem from factors like team consolidation, pandemic recovery, and economic pressures. As part of a broader tech industry trend, these job cuts may signal a shift in focus and priorities for the company.
Is Amazon laying off more employees in its advertising business? ›
Leaked email shows Amazon is laying off more employees in its advertising business. Amazon is laying off more employees in its advertising unit. The layoffs continue a trend that started in late 2022. Amazon's CFO hinted at further job cuts in February.
Will AWS be affected by Amazon layoffs? ›
Amazon will cut hundreds of jobs in its Amazon Web Services (AWS) division. The layoffs will impact “several hundred” sales, marketing and global services (SMGS) roles. In addition, AWS will also cut “a few hundred roles” on the Physical Stores Technology team, the retailer told Digital Commerce 360.
What type of employees is Amazon laying off? ›
Synopsis. Amazon Web Services has laid off a few hundred employees in its unit that works on technology for physical retail stores, and several hundred more in its sales, marketing and global services division, news site The Information reported on Wednesday.
What is the reason behind layoffs? ›
Cost-reducing measures
One of the most common reasons for layoffs is because the company is cutting costs for some reason. This could be because the business has to pay off debts, there are fewer sales or the company no longer has the financial backing of investors.
What triggers layoffs? ›
3 Common Reasons For Layoffs
Companies have different reasons for layoffs, but some come up more often than others. From my professional experience and research, three common situations are financial issues, investor pressure and eliminating certain roles or departments.
Why is Amazon employee turnover so high? ›
The report attributes Amazon's turnover rate to unsustainable work expectations, high injury rates, monitoring systems that often lead to termination and discipline, low chances of promotions, and more.
Is Amazon going to lay off employees in 2024? ›
Companies like Tesla, Amazon, Google, TikTok, Snap and Microsoft have conducted sizable layoffs in the first months of 2024. Smaller-sized startups have also seen a fair amount of cuts, and in some cases, have shut down operations altogether.
Why did Amazon let people go? ›
An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the layoffs. Hopkins said the company moved to make cuts to “prioritize our investments for the long-term success of our business.”
How many jobs are Amazon cutting? ›
Beginning at the end of 2022 and continuing through 2023, Amazon initiated the largest layoffs in its history, cutting more than 27,000 jobs across almost every area of the company. So far this year, Amazon has laid off employees in its Twitch, Audible, Buy with Prime, and Prime Video and MGM Studios units.
At the start of 2023 Amazon began culling its principle workforce, and in a series of redundancies, axed more than 27,000 jobs in total. Then in November 2023 Amazon cut “several hundred” jobs at its Alexa voice assistant division, and so far in 2024 the job losses have continued.
What is Amazon's severance package? ›
The amount [of severance] full-time [hourly] employees get offered ranges from $2,000 to $5,000, and depends on how long they have been at the company; if they take the money, they agree to never work for Amazon again.
Where was most of Amazon layoffs? ›
Amazon laid off 18,000 employees in the largest job cut in the company's history, with most of the layoffs coming in the company's Amazon Stores and People Experience and Technology Solutions divisions. CEO Andy Jassy cited an "uncertain economy" and rapid hiring as reasons for the layoffs.
Who are going to be laid off by Amazon? ›
Amazon is cutting hundreds of jobs from its cloud division known as Amazon Web Services, Bloomberg reported on April 3. The reduction will impact employees on the sales and marketing team and those working on tech for its retail stores, Bloomberg reported.
Is Amazon hiring Freeze? ›
After recently announcing a corporate hiring freeze, industry behemoth Amazon has announced their plan to lay off 10,000 employees as part of a massive cost-cutting and restructuring measure.
Why do employees leave Amazon? ›
There's an uptick in Amazon employees quitting right now, blaming a strict RTO mandate, layoffs, and 'lack of respect'
How does Amazon fire employees? ›
Amazon has laid off more than 27,000 people since late 2022. Some employees worry Amazon is using another tactic to cull its workforce: "quiet firing." Generally, "quiet firing" means pushing employees out by creating conditions that cause them to quit.
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