Amazon Has Begun Mass Layoffs

Amazon yesterday began laying off employees, beginning with its Devices & Services division, which makes products like Alexa, Echo speakers, Fire TV, Ring cameras, and cloud gaming service Luna.

The e-commerce giant this week reportedly will lay off about 10,000 workers, or roughly 3% of its corporate employees, the largest job cut in the company’s 28-year history. The cuts are rolling out team by team, rather than all at once, the New York Times reported on Monday.

“After a deep set of reviews, we recently decided to consolidate some teams and programs,” wrote Dave Limp, senior vice president of Devices & Services, in a message posted to the company’s website on Wednesday. “One of the consequences of these decisions is that some roles will no longer be required.”

Limp revealed that Amazon notified the impacted employees yesterday and will help them find new roles within the company. If an employee cannot find a new role internally, Amazon will provide them a “separation payment, transitional benefits, and external job placement support,” he wrote.

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In response to questions about how many employees had been affected so far, Amazon spokesperson Brad Glasser pointed BuzzFeed News to Limp’s statement on the website and did not share any figures. Kelly Nantel, another Amazon spokesperson, told BuzzFeed News via email that the cuts were a result of the “current macro-economic environment (as well as several years of rapid hiring).”

On Nov. 17, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, who hadn’t publicly spoken about the layoffs so far, said in a note posted to Amazon’s website that the company will continue to make cuts across the board over the next few months. Those impacted will be informed early next year.

“We haven’t concluded yet exactly how many other roles will be impacted,” Jassy wrote.

Amazon’s layoffs come on the heels of massive cuts at social media giant Meta, which laid off more than 11,000 employees last week, and Twitter, whose new owner Elon Musk has slashed more than half its staff and cut thousands of contractors around the world.

According to Layoffs.fyi, a tracker run by San Francisco–based entrepreneur Roger Lee, more than 120,000 tech workers have lost their jobs this year thanks to companies trying to rein in spending amid fears of a looming recession in 2023.