Amazon is the latest tech company to lay off employees amidst fears of economic uncertainty.
While there is no word on the size or scope of these cuts, Amazon on Wednesday confirmed earlier reports of company-wide reductions by sharing a letter(Opens in a new window) that Senior VP Dave Limp sent to his Devices and Services team.
“After a deep set of reviews, we recently decided to consolidate some teams and programs. One of the consequences of these decisions is that some roles will no longer be required,” Limp said. “It pains me to have to deliver this news as we know we will lose talented Amazonians from the Devices & Services org as a result. I am incredibly proud of the team we have built and to see even one valued team member leave is never an outcome any of us want.”
Amazon began notifying impacted workers on Tuesday, giving them two months to find another role within the company or accept severance pay, The Washington Post reports(Opens in a new window). Those who chose the latter will receive “a separation payment, transitional benefits, and external job placement support,” Limp said.
The Post earlier this week suggested as many as 10,000 employees—about 3% of Amazon’s overall corporate headcount—could soon be out of a job. Initial cuts are expected to affect “mostly” areas like retail, human resources, and devices; several members of the Alexa team were terminated, too.
More layoffs are on the horizon, according to the AP(Opens in a new window). In accordance with California’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, Amazon on Tuesday notified regional authorities of plans to drop 260 more employees—from data scientists and software engineers to “other corporate corkers”—early next year.
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Amazon did not immediately respond to PCMag’s request for comment.
It’s been a tough month for tech workers: Meta and Lyft each shed 13% of their workforce, while Twitter CEO Elon Musk dropped half of his employees after acquiring the social network. Meanwhile, Amazon in September revoked employee raises following a software error that overstated bonus payments.
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