Amazon said on Monday that it plans to lay off thousands of employees as part of a belt-tightening measure amid fears of a looming recession.
According to a March 20 message Amazon CEO Andy Jassy sent to employees, the online retail giant plans to lay off more than 9,000 workers.
“This was a difficult decision, but one that we think is best for the company long term,” Jassy wrote in the message.
He said the majority of positions being eliminated were from Amazon Web Services (AWS), People Experience and Technology Solutions (PXT), Amazon Advertising, and Twitch, the live streaming platform predominantly used by gamers.
Jassy said due to the “uncertain economy,” the company had decided to become more “streamlined in … costs and headcount.”
In January, the company eliminated 18,000 positions but held off from announcing additional layoffs pending further analyses. Jassy said that by April the company would determine the specific positions that will be eliminated and let those impacted know.
January’s cuts came on the heels of what has turned out to be Amazon’s worst Q4 ever, during which the company logged its first net loss in almost 10 years, The Verge reported.
Still, Jassy said Amazon is prepared to offer those roughly 9,000 employees being laid off a “separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and external job placement support.”
“To those ultimately impacted by these reductions, I want to thank you for the work you have done on behalf of customers and the company. It’s never easy to say goodbye to our teammates, and you will be missed,” Jassy said. “To those who will continue with us, I look forward to partnering with you as we make life easier for customers every day and relentlessly inventing to do so.”
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people employed by Amazon increased significantly from more than 700,000 to 1.6 million people, according to CNBC.