In a letter by Amazon’s Senior Vice President Beth Galetti, Amazon’s employees were informed that the company has cut 16,000 jobs.
“I recognize this is difficult news, which is why I’m sharing what’s happening and why,”
The cuts were made across multiple departments and were a part of multiple layoffs conducted late last year, starting from when a preliminary announcement was made in October, when Amazon cut 14,000 jobs. This update brings the total layoffs upto 30,000.
The downsizing is one of multiple workforce reductions—either already implemented or to be—carried out by tech companies in January, including Meta’s 1,500 cuts within its Metaverse division and Autodesk’s planned 1,000 job cuts.
The majority of employees impacted will be receiving 90 days’ notice as per the official update, if they wish to look for a new role “internally.”
Other employees who opt not to search for a new job role will be receiving severance pay and other benefits such as health insurance, and severance pay.
“While we’re making these changes, we’ll also continue hiring and investing in strategic areas and functions that are critical to our future,” wrote Galetti.
At the time of writing, Amazon shares were trading at $242.08, down by 1.06% today.