When Amazon (AMZN) announced it was eliminating 9,000 jobs March 20, CEO Andy Jassy wrote a message to workers that was posted to an Amazon blog.
The lost jobs were in addition to the 18,000 layoffs already announced in January.
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The new layoffs were to affect Amazon Web Services (AWS), People Experience and Technology Solutions (PXT Solutions), advertising and the video live streaming service Twitch.
"As we’ve just concluded the second phase of our operating plan ("OP2") 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," Jassy wrote.
To provide some context, Jassy's note explained Amazon's annual planning process where the company decides what investments it wants to make for the future.
"For several years leading up to this one, most of our businesses added a significant amount of headcount. This made sense given what was happening in our businesses and the economy as a whole," Jassy wrote. "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."
Jassy described how Amazon's internal businesses made re-prioritization decisions that led to role reductions.
"Some may ask why we didn’t announce these role reductions with the ones we announced a couple months ago," Jassy wrote. "The short answer is that not all of the teams were done with their analyses in the late fall; and rather than rush through these assessments without the appropriate diligence, we chose to share these decisions as we’ve made them so people had the information as soon as possible."
Jassy ended the note with a crisp thank you and goodbye to the employees left without jobs.
"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. To those who will continue with us, I look forward to partnering with you as we make life easier for customers every day and relentlessly inventing to do so. Andy."
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