After job cuts by tech giants Twitter and Meta, Amazon has now started the layoff of employees across the company amid an “unusual and uncertain macroeconomic environment". The company has laid off some employees in its devices and services unit, according to a letter by hardware chief Dave Limp to employees.
In the letter to employees, Amazon hardware chief Dave Limp said, “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. 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."
News agency Reuters reported that plans, still in flux, to eliminate around 10,000 roles through reductions in more units would amount to about a 3 per cent cut in Amazon’s roughly 300,000-person corporate workforce. The company has offered voluntary buyouts to some human-resources staff, Reuters said quoting a source familiar with Amazon’s job-cut plans.
The company has notified regional authorities in California that it would lay off about 260 workers at various facilities that employ data scientists, software engineers and other corporate workers, according to another news agency Associated Press.
Amazon had rounds of job cuts in 2018 and in 2001 also during the dot-com crash.
Limp said in the letter that Amazon will provide support to the laid-off employees during the transition with a package, including a separation payment, transitional benefits, and external job placement support.
In a statement, Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said that as part of the company’s annual operating planning review process, it always look at each of its businesses and what it believes it should change. “As we have gone through this, given the current macro-economic environment (as well as several years of rapid hiring), some teams are making adjustments, which in some cases means certain roles are no longer necessary."
Brian Caffarello, an Amazon employee, said on LinkedIn, “Like many others, I was let go as part of the Amazon layoffs yesterday."
The move comes days after Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms, on November 9 said the company has decided to reduce the size of its team by about 13 per cent and let more than 11,000 employees go. Twitter has also laid off 50 per cent of its employees.
HERE’S DAVE LIMP’S FULL LETTER TO EMPLOYEES
Folks,
At our last Town Hall in July, I talked a bit about the state of our economy. As you know, we continue to face an unusual and uncertain macroeconomic environment. In light of this, we’ve been working over the last few months to further prioritize what matters most to our customers and the business. 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. 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.
We notified impacted employees yesterday, and will continue to work closely with each individual to provide support, including assisting in finding new roles. 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. We know people across the organization may be impacted differently by this news and will lead with compassion for all team members.
While I know this news is tough to digest, I do want to emphasize that the Devices & Services organization remains an important area of investment for Amazon, and we will continue to invent on behalf of our customers. Having gone through times like this in the past I know that when there’s a difficult economy, customers tend to gravitate to the companies and products they believe have the best customer experience and that take care of them the best. Historically, Amazon has done a very good job at this.
Thank you for the support and empathy that I know our team will show each other during this time. Please don’t hesitate to ping me or your manager if you have any questions.
Dave.
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