In January, Amazon made headlines when it announced an 18,000-person layoff—2,300 from the Seattle area—marking the largest in the company’s history. With the addition of the recently announced 9,000 layoffs, the number of job cuts has now reached 27,000, accounting for approximately 8% of Amazon’s corporate workforce, which previously numbered around 350,000 individuals.
According to reports, the latest round of cuts will be finalized by the end of April, affecting multiple departments, including AWS, PXT, Advertising, and Twitch. The layoffs come amid ongoing restructuring efforts within Amazon as the company continues to realign its priorities and focus on profitability.
“This was a difficult decision, but one that we think is best for the company long term,” wrote Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.
“For several years leading up to this one, most of our businesses added a significant amount of headcount,” Jassy added. “This made sense, given what was happening in our businesses and the economy as a whole. However, given the uncertain economy in which we reside, and the uncertainty that exists in the near future, we have chosen to be more streamlined in our costs and headcount.”
The company’s overall base of 1.5 million employees includes warehouse workers, who aren’t part of the cuts.
