Due to “the unpredictable economy” and the fact that the online retail behemoth “hired swiftly” during the pandemic, Amazon stated on Wednesday that it will be eliminating more than 18,000 positions from its workforce.
In a memo to his team, CEO Andy Jassy stated, “With the reductions we announced in November and the ones we’re sharing today, we aim to cut slightly over 18,000 roles.” In November, the corporation announced 10,000 layoffs.
The company’s management, according to Jassey, is “fully aware that these role eliminations are distressing for people, and we don’t take these decisions lightly.”
Some of the layoffs would be in Europe Jassey said, adding that the impacted workers would be informed starting on January 18
He said the sudden announcement was being made because “because one of our teammates leaked this information externally.”
“Amazon has weathered uncertain and difficult economies in the past, and we will continue to do so,” Jassy said.
The retailer has in fact doubled its global workforce between the beginning of 2020 and the beginning of 2022 by hiring with a fury during the pandemic to satisfy an explosion in demand for deliveries.
Without seasonal staff hired at times of high activity, such as the holiday season, the business had 1.54 million employees worldwide at the end of September.
