mass layoffs at the company, saying, “We just felt like we needed to streamline our costs.”
Speaking at the New York Times DealBook Summit, Jassy justified the firm’s decision to sack people en masse due to the rising economic uncertainty.
According to a Fortune report, Jassy said Amazon’s retail business grew quickly during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, which “forced us to make decisions at that time to spend a lot more money and to go much faster in building infrastructure than we ever imagined we would”.
“We knew we might be overbuilding,” he added.
Last month, Amazon began laying off employees in an effort to trim costs, and increase operating margins and profits amid the tech winter and fears of an impending recession. According to various reports, the company plans to lay off as many as 10,000 employees.
The company notified authorities in California it would lay off about 260 workers at various facilities employing data scientists, software engineers and corporate workers. The job cuts would be effective from January 17, it said.
Discover the stories of your interest
Following the announcement, Jassy sent a note to employees in the devices and books divisions informing them about the layoffs and added the company had offered some employees a voluntary buyout offer.
“I’ve been in this role now for about a year and a half, and without a doubt, this is the most difficult decision we’ve made during that time (and, we’ve had to make some very tough calls over the past couple of years, particularly during the heart of the pandemic),” he wrote in the memo.
India angle
While the exact number of India employees who will be affected is not known,
ET reported on November 16 that the cuts could exceed a few hundred, given Amazon’s sizable workforce here, estimated at 100,000.
“The retrenchment is happening here (India) and discussions are underway on the numbers,” a source told us at the time. “There is a sense it might be relatively higher as compared to peers like Meta and others, where India was not affected in a big way.”
In May, Amazon said it had generated total employment of over 1.1 million, comprising indirect and contract jobs. Amazon India, besides its key offices in Bengaluru, also has employees working out of coworking spaces across cities.
An executive at a recruitment services firm in Bengaluru said hundreds of employees, especially in the shared services, back-office, and retail operations, face the threat of layoffs.
Amazon refutes layoffs charge
The company, however, insists it hasn’t laid off any employees in India. ET reported on December 2 that the company has written to the labour ministry,
saying employees who left the firm did so voluntarily.
“VSP [voluntary severance programme] is a completely voluntary programme under which employees opt to receive a fair severance package. At no stage will Amazon India coax or direct its employees to opt for the VSP,” the ecommerce major said in a reply to the labour ministry, which ET has reviewed.
“We are offering an extended window to employees till December 6, 2022, in case they choose to revisit or revoke their decision,” it said. The previous deadline was November 30.
ET reported on November 25 that Amazon India told labour authorities at a hearing that
it did not sack any employees, and merely let go of those who opted for the VSP.
The labour ministry had summoned Amazon India to appear before the deputy chief labour commissioner in Bengaluru after the Pune-based employee union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) petitioned union labour minister Bhupender Yadav, claiming the online retailer had sacked a large number of employees in India.
“You (Amazon) are therefore requested to attend this office with all relevant records in the matter either personally or through an authorised representative on the aforesaid date and time without fail,” the ministry’s notice read.
For all the latest Technology News Click Here
