The layoffs at Amazon are even bigger than the companies originally announced. According to CEO Andy Jassy, 18,000 people will be laid off.
The wave of layoffs at Amazon, the world’s largest online mail-order company, is significantly larger than originally anticipated. CEO Andy Jassy announced the layoffs of more than 18,000 in a note to employees Wednesday evening (local time). In November, only 10,000 jobs were mentioned. This is the first major downsizing in the history of the US group, which was formed in 1994.
Amazon: The necessary step to cut costs
Amazon recently had approximately 1.5 million employees worldwide, most of them working in delivery and warehousing infrastructure. Regarding the challenging economic environment due to high inflation and rising interest rates, CEO Jassy said on his company blog:
The management team is aware of how difficult layoffs are for those affected and does not make such decisions lightly. But step is necessary to reduce costs.
Bigger wave of layoffs than originally announced
Amazon already started massive layoffs in November. In previous years, there has been a hiring attack due to the online ordering boom during the pandemic.
The wave of layoffs initially hit the device division, which hurt for the Echo smart speakers and the Alexa voice assistant program. But Jassy had already prepared employees for new layoffs in mid-November and signaled that layoffs would follow next year.
Layoffs should now be broader and include additional sections. According to Jassy, management initially wanted to communicate this to those affected in a more confidential way. However, this was not possible as the plans were leaked. The US financial newspaper “Wall Street Journal” had previously reported on this subject based on insider sources.
Concerns about inflation plague the tech industry
The layoffs at Amazon are yet another proof that the job boom in the tech industry has come to an abrupt end. After things improved during the pandemic, the current market environment, characterized by fears of inflation and recession, is giving many companies a hard time.
The string of companies announcing layoffs has been growing for months. For example, there have been actual layoffs at Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, and Twitter, the online network taken over by Tesla boss Elon Musk.
Software maker Salesforce also cuts employment
On Wednesday morning (local time), US software maker Salesforce had already announced that it wanted to get rid of every tenth employee. In December, its SAP competitor had more than 79,000 employees worldwide, according to its own statements. This should eliminate about 8,000 jobs in the sales software specialist.
Source: ZDF
I am Ben Stock, a highly experienced professional with over 7 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in market section writing and have published numerous high-quality articles on various topics under my name. My passion for journalism has helped me to develop an in-depth understanding of the industry, enabling me to stay up-to-date on all the latest trends and developments.
