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The upcoming workforce reductions are anticipated to predominantly affect employees situated in the United States, Canada, and Costa Rica. There is currently no indication of whether these changes will extend to staff in Australia, and 9News.com.au has reached out to Amazon Australia for further clarification.
This development was inadvertently revealed to employees through an internal email on Wednesday (AEDT). Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology, Beth Galetti, later made the news official, indicating that the company’s aim is to enhance efficiency by refining operations.
“We have been focusing on fortifying our organization by eliminating unnecessary layers, fostering responsibility, and cutting through red tape,” Galetti explained in a blog post initially shared with Amazon staff.
“I understand this is challenging news for everyone involved,” she added.
This marks the second wave of job cuts within a few months, as the company already laid off around 14,000 employees in October. These measures align with CEO Andy Jassy’s strategic overhaul for the future direction of Amazon.
Galetti insisted the recent job cuts wouldn’t become a new normal, and claimed the company was still looking at hiring and investing in “strategic areas and functions that are critical to our future”.
“Some of you might ask if this is the beginning of a new rhythm – where we announce broad reductions every few months. That’s not our plan,” she said.
“But just as we always have, every team will continue to evaluate the ownership, speed, and capacity to invent for customers, and make adjustments as appropriate.”
Layoffs will begin immediately across the company. Most employees will be given 90 days to look for new roles internally, while people who aren’t rehired at Amazon will be given severance pay and additional benefits, the company said.
Jassy has been outspoken about AI’s impact on Amazon. Last year, he wrote in a blog post to employees that efficiency gains from the technology would allow the company to reduce its workforce.
“As we roll out more Generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done. We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs,” he bluntly admitted.
Jassy said Amazon wasn’t unique in that respect: He envisioned billions of AI agents being put into service across every company and field.
“Many of these agents have yet to be built, but make no mistake, they’re coming, and coming fast,” Jassy said.
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