Amazon likely to lay off 10,000 employees starting this week: NYT

“The lay off will focus on the e-commerce giant’s devices unit, which houses voice-assistant Alexa, as well as its retail division and human resources, according to the report, which also said the total number of layoffs remains fluid,” as per media reports.

Amazon joins a bandwagon of U.S. companies making deep cuts to its employee base to brace for a potential economic downturn.

Amazon had about 1,608,000 full-time as well as part-time employees as of December 31, 2021.

Last week, Facebook-parent Meta Platforms said it would cut more than 11,000 jobs, or 13% of its workforce, to rein in costs.

Amazon had recently been fighting to retain its employees. Earlier this year, the e-commerce giant more than doubled the cap on cash compensation for its tech workers, citing “a particularly competitive labor market.”

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A report published by NYT stated that nearly 3 per cent or around 10,000 of Amazon’s corporate employees would be laid off.

“Changing business models and the precarious economy have set off layoffs across the tech industry. Elon Musk halved Twitter’s head count this month after buying the company, and last week, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced it was laying off 11,000 employees, about 13 percent of its workforce. Lyft, Stripe, Snap and other tech firms have also laid off workers in recent months,” stated the article.

But earlier this year, Amazon’s growth slowed to the lowest rate in two decades, as the bullwhip of the pandemic snapped. The company faced high costs from decisions to overinvest and rapidly expand, while changes in shopping habits and high inflation dented sales.

Amazon in its latest quarter experienced a slight rebound, however, it has cautioned investors that growth could weaken again.