Amazon Layoffs: Company Responds To Over 18,000 Layoffs, Says Information Was Leaked

Just a day after the news of Amazon layoffs rocked the industry, the tech giant has come forward and shared a statement on the over 18,000 layoffs. Citing the official statement to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, the e-commerce giant has said that the layoffs information, intended to be kept rather private, was leaked by one of the teammates. 

Confirming that Amazon layoffs would lead to the axing of over 18,000 jobs, the official statement from the CEO reads, “Today, I wanted to share the outcome of these further reviews, which is the difficult decision to eliminate additional roles. 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.”

However, since till this confirmation, the Amazon layoffs news was only being attributed to sources, the company has also clarified that someone only leaked the information as according to them, the ideal way is to inform the affected people. It also mentions that the employees affected by these Amazon layoffs would be contacted around January 18.

“We typically wait to communicate about these outcomes until we can speak with the people who are directly impacted. However, because one of our teammates leaked this information externally, we decided it was better to share this news earlier so you can hear the details directly from me. We intend on communicating with impacted employees (or where applicable in Europe, with employee representative bodies) starting on January 18,” says Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on mass layoffs. 

However, acknowledging that these layoffs would mean a difficult time for many, the company has also said that it would support these people through different ways. Jassy, on behalf of Amazon says, “S-team and I are deeply aware that these role eliminations are difficult for people, and we don’t take these decisions lightly or underestimate how much they might affect the lives of those who are impacted. We are working to support those who are affected and are providing packages that include a separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and external job placement support.”