Amazon Layoffs To Affect More Than 18,000 Employees As Tech Slump Deepens: Report

As 2023 begins on another note of mass layoffs, the latest to be added to the list is Amazon.com Inc. once again. As per a report and fresh updates, Amazon layoffs are expected to be bigger in number than previously reported and may affect more than 18,000 employees.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, tech giant Amazon may give in to the worsening technology slump and lay off more than 18,000 employees. While the layoffs were reported even before, this time, Amazon’s Chief Executive Andy Jassy reportedly informed these updates on job cuts in a public staff note. 

Jassy, as per the Wall Street Journal, also added that these Amazon layoffs were in-line with the company’s annual planning process. However, this workforce reduction may be concentrated mostly in corporate ranks, retail division and some human resources functions. 

“Amazon has weathered uncertain and difficult economies in the past, and we will continue to do so... These changes will help us pursue our long-term opportunities with a stronger cost structure,” the WSJ quoted Jassy as saying in the staff memo. 

As per previous reports, Amazon layoffs were initially expected to affect close to 10,000 employees, including some in the Indian division. Later, some other reports also suggested that Amazon layoffs may continue till 2023 and happen in parts, rather than all at once. 

Since the world economy has been facing an economic downturn, mass layoffs induced recession are being seen as the most obvious outcome of this slowdown. While initially these layoffs were only seen in the tech sector, slowly, they also extended to others, including media houses with CNN and many more reporting of job cuts.