Amazon to Lay Off Another 9,000 Employees

Amazon laid off 18,000 employees in January. But it’s not done downsizing yet: the online giant today said that it would need to let go of another 9,000 employees.

“As we’ve just concluded the second phase of our operating plan this past week, I’m writing to share that we intend to eliminate about 9,000 more positions in the next few weeks—mostly in AWS, PXT (People Experience and Technology Solutions), Advertising, and Twitch,” Amazon CEO Any Jassy wrote in a letter to employees. “This was a difficult decision, but one that we think is best for the company long term.”

According to Jassy, Amazon was forced down this path because it had basically over-hired during the pandemic-era buying spree. But with the world now sinking into economic uncertainty, the headwinds that drove the business forward during the pandemic haven’t just slowed, they’ve reversed. Amazon, he says, will need to be “leaner” going forward.

After an internal review, Amazon’s various business units determined which products and services mattered most to customers—a process one would imagine routinely, regardless of anything else—and were instructed to re-prioritize accordingly. This process was what led to the 18,000 layoffs in January, Jassy says, but it apparently didn’t cut deep enough. And that said, Amazon will still see “limited hiring in some of [its] businesses in strategic areas where [they’ve] prioritized allocating more resources.”

Jassy also explained that Amazon would have announced these additional layoffs in January had all of the internal teams completed their analyses by then. The goal now is to complete the layoffs by the end of April.

“I remain very optimistic about the future and the myriad of opportunities we have, both in our largest businesses, Stores and AWS, and our newer customer experiences and businesses in which we’re investing,” he added.