Amazon.com Inc. announced on Monday that it would eliminate an additional 9,000 positions, adding to a wave of job cuts that have hit the technology industry as a result of the uncertain economic climate.
In an astonishing turn of events for a business that has long bragged about creating jobs, Amazon will have cut 27,000 jobs recently, or 9% of its roughly 300,000-person corporate workforce.
The most recent cuts concentrate on Amazon's extremely lucrative cloud and advertising businesses, which were once thought to be untouchable before economic worries caused business customers to scrutinize their spending.
The layoffs will also have an impact on Twitch, Amazon's streaming service. Twitch's new CEO, Dan Clancy, announced last week that the company will let go of more than 400 workers.
By April, Amazon hopes to have decided who will be let go as part of the latest round of layoffs.
Stock in the company dropped 1.8%.
The choice comes after an almost constant stream of news about layoffs in the technology industry, which has seen some of the most valuable companies in the world, including Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc, sever ties with staggering numbers of workers they had once courted in droves.
"I don't think this means much for other companies, except that all will be more careful before allowing their headcount to balloon in the future," Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said.
After eliminating more than 11,000 positions in 2022, Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms Inc announced last week that it would eliminate 10,000 jobs this year, signaling the start of a second round of layoffs for the industry.
Amazon's CEO Andy Jassy explained the choice in a memo to staff that was published online. He said it resulted from ongoing priority analysis and economic uncertainty.
"Some may ask why we didn't announce these role reductions with the ones we announced a couple months ago," he wrote. "The short answer is that not all of the teams were done with their analyses in the late fall."
"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."
According to a statement made by Amazon last month, operating profit may continue to decline in the upcoming quarter as a result of consumers' and cloud users' restrained spending.
Amazon is under fire from the labor and activist group Athena Coalition, which released the following statement: "None of these firings are necessary. Jassy has decided to make them happen in order to increase Amazon's profits."
In recent months, the company has reduced or stopped offering certain services, such as its virtual primary care program for employers.
(Source:www.theeconomictimes.com)
In an astonishing turn of events for a business that has long bragged about creating jobs, Amazon will have cut 27,000 jobs recently, or 9% of its roughly 300,000-person corporate workforce.
The most recent cuts concentrate on Amazon's extremely lucrative cloud and advertising businesses, which were once thought to be untouchable before economic worries caused business customers to scrutinize their spending.
The layoffs will also have an impact on Twitch, Amazon's streaming service. Twitch's new CEO, Dan Clancy, announced last week that the company will let go of more than 400 workers.
By April, Amazon hopes to have decided who will be let go as part of the latest round of layoffs.
Stock in the company dropped 1.8%.
The choice comes after an almost constant stream of news about layoffs in the technology industry, which has seen some of the most valuable companies in the world, including Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc, sever ties with staggering numbers of workers they had once courted in droves.
"I don't think this means much for other companies, except that all will be more careful before allowing their headcount to balloon in the future," Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said.
After eliminating more than 11,000 positions in 2022, Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms Inc announced last week that it would eliminate 10,000 jobs this year, signaling the start of a second round of layoffs for the industry.
Amazon's CEO Andy Jassy explained the choice in a memo to staff that was published online. He said it resulted from ongoing priority analysis and economic uncertainty.
"Some may ask why we didn't announce these role reductions with the ones we announced a couple months ago," he wrote. "The short answer is that not all of the teams were done with their analyses in the late fall."
"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."
According to a statement made by Amazon last month, operating profit may continue to decline in the upcoming quarter as a result of consumers' and cloud users' restrained spending.
Amazon is under fire from the labor and activist group Athena Coalition, which released the following statement: "None of these firings are necessary. Jassy has decided to make them happen in order to increase Amazon's profits."
In recent months, the company has reduced or stopped offering certain services, such as its virtual primary care program for employers.
(Source:www.theeconomictimes.com)
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