Amazon to cut over 18,000 jobs

Seattle, January 5

Amazon.com Inc’s layoffs will now increase to more than 18,000 roles as part of a workforce reduction it previously disclosed, Chief Executive Andy Jassy said in a public staff note on Wednesday.

The layoff decisions, which Amazon will communicate starting January 18, will largely impact the company’s e-commerce and human-resources organisations, he said.

The cuts amount to 6% of Amazon’s roughly 300,000-person corporate workforce and represent a swift turn for a retailer that recently doubled its base pay ceiling to compete more aggressively for talent.

Amazon has more than 1.5 million workers, including warehouse staff, making it America’s second-largest private employer after Walmart Inc. Its stock rose 2% in after-hours trade.

Jassy said annual planning “has been more difficult given the uncertain economy and that we’ve hired rapidly over the last several years.” — Reuters