Amazon is set to kickoff a round of layoffs that will affect more than 18,000 employees in the largest job cut in its history. The company had announced earlier this month that it was going to lay off people, joining the likes of Microsoft, Twitter and Meta.
The jobs cuts are being attributed to the slowing online sales growth as the e-commerce to streaming conglomerate braces for a possible recession. The expected recession is likely to affect the spending power of its customers.
The latest round of layoffs commenced on Wednesday, Bloomberg reported. It is expected to affect the retail division and human resources. The current job cuts amount to 6 per cent of Amazon’s 350,000 corporate employees all over world.
“Amazon has weathered uncertain and difficult economies in the past, and we will continue to do so,” Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy said earlier this month in a memo to employees. “These changes will help us pursue our long-term opportunities with a stronger cost structure.” In his memo, Jassy said that Amazon would provide severance, transitional health benefits and job placement to affected workers.
Amazon began laying off employees last year that affected its Devices and Services groups, the makers of Alexa voice assistant and Echo smart speakers.
Amazon faced a sharp slowdown in e-commerce growth as shoppers returned to pre-pandemic habits of shopping from the retail offline marketplaces. Amazon delayed warehouse openings and halted hiring in its retail group. It broadened the freeze to the company’s corporate staff and then began making cuts.
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