GARNER – Amazon has begun to make job cuts after multiple media reports emerged earlier this week that the e-commerce giant would initiate layoffs to the tune of roughly 10,000 affected employees.
In a “team update” posted on Amazon’s website authored by Dave Limp, the senior vice president of devices and services at Amazon, the company confirms that layoffs began on Tuesday.
“[W]e continue to face an unusual and uncertain macroeconomic environment,” Limp’s note reads. “In light of this, we’ve been working over the last few months to further prioritize what matters most to our customers and the business. After a deep set of reviews, we recently decided to consolidate some teams and programs.”
Due to that decision, Limp’s letter notes “some roles will no longer be required.”
That includes roles on the devices and services organization within Amazon, the letter notes.
“As part of our annual operating planning review process, we always look at each of our businesses and what we believe we should change,” said Kelly Nantel, a spokesperson for Amazon, in a statement shared with WRAL TechWire. “As we’ve gone through this, given the current macro-economic environment (as well as several years of rapid hiring), some teams are making adjustments, which in some cases means certain roles are no longer necessary.”
“We don’t take these decisions lightly, and we are working to support any employees who may be affected,” said Nantel.
Amazon layoffs have begun
“We notified impacted employees yesterday, and will continue to work closely with each individual to provide support, including assisting in finding new roles,” the letter reads. “In cases where employees cannot find a new role within the company, we will support the transition with a package that includes a separation payment, transitional benefits, and external job placement support.”
Limp states in the letter that he personally as “gone through times like this in the past” and adds that “when there’s a difficult economy, customers tend to gravitate to the companies and products they believe have the best customer experience and that take care of them the best.”
Earlier this month, Amazon announced it would institute a hiring freeze for new corporate roles in the organization in a different letter posted to its website that cited an “unusual macro-economic environment” and went on to note that the company aims to “balance our hiring and investments with being thoughtful about this economy.”
In October, the company announced plans to hire 1,000 workers in the Triangle, though those were not corporate roles. And last month, a federal regulator said that Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, violated federal labor laws multiple times in 2022.
Amazon’s stock price took a drop following the tech giant’s earnings report earlier this quarter.
The company maintains multiple facilities in North Carolina as distribution centers, including one in Garner, where employees are working to form a union known as Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity & Empowerment, or C.A.U.S.E.
