According to Fox News, Dave Limp, senior vice president of devices and services at Amazon, stated that it would be laying off people in order to “consolidate some teams and programs.” Limp made the revelation in a memo to the staff.
Although it is unknown exactly how many workers would be let go, a source told the Wall Street Journal that layoffs might affect 10,000 jobs overall, including those in Amazon’s retail, devices, and human resources divisions.
Amazon to assist the fired workers in locating new positions
“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 wrote in the memo on Wednesday.
“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.”
He claimed that the employees had been informed a day before and gave the assurance that the company would assist the fired workers in locating new positions.
“We notified impacted employees yesterday, and will continue to work closely with each individual to provide support, including assisting in finding new roles,” Limp said.
“In cases where employees cannot find a new role within the company, we will support the transition with a package that includes a separation payment, transitional benefits, and external job placement support.”
This will be the first major layoff in Amazon’s history
Amazon began executing its projected job cuts across its tech and corporate personnel on Wednesday, joining its Silicon Valley rivals in the firing frenzy. According to reports, this will be the first major layoff in the company’s history to affect more than 10,000 employees.
The news comes a day after rumors surfaced that the internet giant would start firing 10,000 workers, or 3% of its workforce, from its retail and Alexa operations, owing to sluggish performance.
Between April and September of this year, the company reportedly cut its headcount by 80,000 and stopped employing both corporate and hourly positions.
Elon Musk-controlled Twitter and Mark Zuckerberg-owned Meta, have both announced significant layoffs. Meta announced that it will lay off 13% of its personnel, in contrast to Twitter’s announcement that it would decrease the platform’s employment by almost 50%.