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Bloomberg
Amazon.com Inc. plans to cut about 10,000 jobs, the largest ever headcount reduction at the e-commerce giant as it braces for slower growth and a possible recession.
The layoffs, which could begin as soon as this week, will likely target Amazon’s devices group, responsible for the Echo smart speakers and Alexa digital assistant, as well as Amazon’s retail divisions and human resources.
Teams are making the decisions on where to reduce headcount as part of the company’s annual planning process.
Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy has vowed to streamline operations amid slowing sales growth and economic uncertainty. Last month, the Seattle-based company predicted that the holiday sales period would be slowest in its history, spooking Wall Street and
tanking the shares.
Some longtime Amazon employees, also speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an internal matter, said the cost-cutting in the last few months has been the most severe they’ve ever experienced.
The world’s largest online retailer spent much of this year adjusting to a sharp slowdown in e-commerce growth as shoppers resumed pre-pandemic habits. Amazon delayed warehouse openings and froze hiring in its retail group, before broadening the freeze across the company’s corporate groups. In recent weeks, Jassy has sharpened his focus on finding cuts among experimental and unprofitable businesses. The company shuttered teams working on a telehealth service, a delivery robot and a kids’ video-calling device, among other projects.