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SEATTLE - Seattle-based Amazon announced on Wednesday that it plans to lay off 16,000 workers across the company.
This is the second round of layoffs in just three months; about 14,000 jobs were cut in October. Last week, Reuters reported that the company was planning to cut thousands of jobs as part of a broader push to eliminate nearly 10% of its corporate workforce.
If fully realized, the cuts would amount to the largest layoffs in Amazon’s history, surpassing the roughly 27,000 jobs the company cut in 2022.
What they're saying:
Amazon Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology Beth Galetti shared this statement early Wednesday:
"I want to let you know that we're making additional organizational changes across Amazon that will impact some of our teammates. I recognize this is difficult news, which is why I’m sharing what’s happening and why.
As I shared in October, we've been working to strengthen our organization by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy. While many teams finalized their organizational changes in October, other teams did not complete that work until now.
The reductions we are making today will impact approximately 16,000 roles across Amazon, and we're again working hard to support everyone whose role is impacted. That starts with offering most US-based employees 90 days to look for a new role internally (timing will vary internationally based on local and country level requirements). Then, for teammates who are unable to find a new role at Amazon or who choose not to look for one, we'll provide transition support including severance pay, outplacement services, health insurance benefits (as applicable), and more.
While we’re making these changes, we’ll also continue hiring and investing in strategic areas and functions that are critical to our future. We’re still in the early stages of building every one of our businesses and there’s significant opportunity ahead.
Some of you might ask if this is the beginning of a new rhythm – where we announce broad reductions every few months. That’s not our plan. But just as we always have, every team will continue to evaluate the ownership, speed, and capacity to invent for customers, and make adjustments as appropriate. That’s never been more important than it is today in a world that’s changing faster than ever.
I'm grateful for how our teams continue to deliver – for customers, for each other, and for the incredible things we're building together."
What we don't know:
It's not known how many Washington-based roles will be eliminated.
On Tuesday, Amazon said it was closing all Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores, with most locations shutting down by Feb. 1 as the company shifts its grocery strategy.
The closures mark the end of Amazon’s standalone grocery store brands as the company concentrates investment in areas it says are growing faster, including same-day grocery delivery and an expanded Whole Foods footprint.
This is a developing story, and will be updated.
The Source: Information in this story came from Amazon News, FOX Business and original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle.
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