Amazon is to cut 9,000 jobs across its global business, as the second big cull of staff at the online retailer this year.
The company said the cuts would fall mostly in its cloud services, advertising and Twitch livestreaming units. They come more than two months after Amazon announced it had expanded staff-cutting plans to affect more than 18,000 workers. In January it also revealed separate plans to shut three UK warehouses and seven delivery stations, affecting more than 1,200 further jobs.
Amazon’s chief executive, Andy Jassy, said in a letter to workers that the company had added a substantial amount of staff in the past few years, but the uncertain economy has forced it to choose cost and headcount cuts. Amazon employs more than 1.5 million people worldwide.
The company has been systematically cutting back on expenses across the business, announcing earlier this month that it was pausing the construction on part of its second headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. Amazon has also been slowing down the global expansion of its network of distribution centers, warehouses and other facilities since at least 2022, in some cases scrapping planned projects entirely.
The second round of deep cuts follows a similar move by Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. Last week it announced plans to cut a further 10,000 jobs this year and also instituted a hiring freeze, having already announced 11,000 job cuts in November last year.
Twitter has also announced multiple rounds of redundancies since Elon Musk’s $44bn (£36bn) takeover last autumn, amid a sharp drop-off in the advertising bookings that represent the majority of its revenue. Other tech firms that have announced significant layoffs include Microsoft, Google owner Alphabet and business software company Salesforce.
Tech firms laid off more than 150,000 workers globally last year, according to the website Layoffs.fyi, with a further 139,000 layoffs already announced in 2023, including Amazon’s latest announcement. Tech firms have been cutting jobs due to uncertain economic conditions in big markets such as the US, as well as adjusting their cost bases after expanding too much during the coronavirus pandemic.
In his letter to workers on Monday, Jassy said: “As we’ve just concluded the second phase of our operating plan this past week, I’m writing to share that we intend to eliminate about 9,000 more positions in the next few weeks – mostly in AWS, PXT, advertising and Twitch.
“This was a difficult decision, but one that we think is best for the company long term. To those ultimately impacted by these reductions, I want to thank you for the work you have done on behalf of customers and the company.
“It’s never easy to say goodbye to our teammates, and you will be missed.”
