Amazon to lay off 18,000 employees

The biggest cuts will take place in the HR and retail departments.

Amazon has decided to make a large-scale reduction and lay off 18 thousand of employees. The biggest cuts will take place in the HR department, as well as in the corporation’s retail business.
 
Amazon CEO Andy Jesse said the business planning process for 2023 is being finalized, examining headcount, investments, and priorities for the business to thrive in the future.
 
“Between the reductions, we made in November and the ones we’re sharing today, we plan to eliminate just over 18,000 roles. Several teams are impacted; however, the majority of role eliminations are in our Amazon Stores and PXT organizations,” commented Jesse.

The company plans to support employees who will be affected by the cuts. It is about packages, including lump-sum payments, health insurance benefits, and assistance in finding employment in overseas subsidiaries.

Amazon calculates that the layoffs will allow for long-term opportunities with a more robust cost structure. As of the third quarter of 2022, the company had 1.5 million employees. Thus, about 1.2% of the corporation’s workforce will be laid off. For the first time, the forthcoming layoffs were reported in September – then it was about 10 thousand employees.