Amazon will lay off more than 18,000 employees

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy confirmed Wednesday that the company would lay off over 18,000 workers. This workforce reduction is the largest job cutoff since the tech companies started massive layoffs last year.

Back in November 2022, The New York Times reported that Amazon was planning to lay off around 10,000 workers. However, this figure has significantly increased with an additional 8,000 workers. The retail giant announced in October that it had gained double-digit sales growth. Thanks to their “biggest Prime Dy event ever” in July.

Amazon's layoffs will now increase to more than 18,000 roles as part of a workforce reduction it previously disclosed, Chief Executive Andy Jassy said in a public staff note yesterday | Read more: https://t.co/QXsjrSETJn pic.twitter.com/EtfIiBz6oB

— RTÉ News (@rtenews) January 5, 2023

In addition, Amazon promised investors that they are creating “steady progress” toward cutting costs. While on January, it reported at the SEC that it loaned $8 billion for “general corporate purposes” use.

Moreover, a spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company utilizes “different financing options to support capital expenditures, debt repayments, acquisitions, and working capital needs” as it operates in an “uncertain macroeconomic environment.”

According to the Amazon CEO memo, most of the job roles affected will be in Technology, Experience, People organizations, and Amazon Stores. Jassy also wrote in a blog post that the uncertain economy caused the layoffs. Another factor he also mentioned is the company’s fast hiring.

Amazon announces it will eliminate 18,000 roles in the company. @rebeccajarvis has more on the tech layoffs. pic.twitter.com/YBjX32CHXl

— Good Morning America (@GMA) January 5, 2023

On a positive note, the reductions will not affect the hourly warehouse staff. Reports also show that Amazon had been looking to cut off 10,000 workers in November. However, on Wednesday, Jassy mentioned the workforce they need to cut to be more than that. He said it is “just over 18,000.”

Tech Layoffs

Jassy tried to be optimistic in his blog post on Wednesday while confirming the massive layoff. He wrote, “Amazon has weathered uncertain and difficult economies in the past, and we will continue to do so.” Even if 18,000 is a considerable number, it’s just over 1% of the 1.5 million total number of Amazon workers in corporate offices and warehouses.

Last year, Amazon had slower-than-expected growth during the height of the pandemic. It adjusted to an inflation rate at its highest level in 40 years. The company announced layoffs the same day software giant Salesforce announced its workforce reductions. It will cut 10% of its employees, a total of 8,000 workers.

By record, Amazon still tops the list of having the biggest layoff from the tech sector. In the last months, Meta announced that they are eliminating 11,000 employees. Twitter with its new CEO, also experienced a significant number of job reductions. In addition, tech companies like Intel are also planning to reduce their workforce this year.