Amazon, the largest online retailer in the world, has announced that it will be laying off a total of over 18,000 employees. This marks the largest round of job cuts in the company’s history, and will impact several teams within the company. The majority of the layoffs will occur within the Amazon Stores and People, Experience, and Technology (PXT) organizations. According to a statement by CEO Andy Jassy, the layoffs are a result of “the uncertain economy.”
The layoffs come after a period of hiring during the COVID-19 pandemic, as lockdowns and other measures caused consumers to turn to online shopping, leading to a boost in Amazon’s retail business. Despite this, Jassy stated that the layoffs are necessary in order to help the company pursue long-term opportunities with a stronger cost structure. Affected employees will receive separation payments, transitional health insurance benefits, and external job placement support.
The job cuts will mostly impact the company’s physical stores, including Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go, as well as its PXT organizations, which handle human resources and other functions. The layoffs equate to approximately 5.5% of Amazon’s corporate staff, or 1.2% of its overall workforce, which includes global distribution center and hourly workers.
The announcement of the layoffs has prompted worker unrest within the company. Employees affiliated with the UK’s GMB union at Amazon’s Coventry warehouse have announced plans to strike on January 25th, demanding higher pay. Currently, Amazon warehouse employee pay starts at a minimum of between £10.50 and £11.45 per hour, but striking workers are seeking to increase this base rate to £15 per hour. Amazon has faced union action in the past, particularly in the US, where the company has been accused of union-busting when warehouse staff have attempted to organize.
The layoffs at Amazon also come after a wave of job cuts in the tech sector in the second half of 2021. Companies such as HP, Cisco, Asana, Zendesk, Meta, Twitter, Stripe, F5, Micron, and Salesforce have all announced layoffs in recent months.
More Stories