Amazon Studios and Prime Video cut 100 staff members after another round of layoffs this year. Amazon has been gutting employees as it aims to streamline costs during an unsteady economy by reducing the headcount across multiple company divisions.
The massive amounts of layoffs this year are also a result of cost-cutting measures the company is undertaking due to its hiring spree in response to the COVID pandemic. Amazon is reported to have hired more than half a million new employees between 2020 and late 2022, including doubling corporate staffers. The company grew to 1.5M by 2022.
Now that people are returning to their normal, post-pandemic lives, Amazon is facing some hard decisions and restructuring to maintain the company’s quarterly growth.
In an announcement release on April 27th, Amazon made this statement:
“Like many businesses, we have been closely monitoring economic conditions and our organizational needs, and have made the decision to adjust resources. As a result, a small number of roles will be eliminated on some teams. We will be supporting impacted employees through this transition and thank them for the work they have done on behalf of our customers.”
At the beginning of 2023, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy revealed the company’s plan to reduce employee count in three waves. This round of layoffs was relatively small compared to previous cuts that began earlier in this year. In January, the company terminated 18,000 employees, followed by another 9,000 workers in March throughout Amazon Web Services, People, Experience, & Technology, advertising, and Twitch divisions.
CEO Andy Jassy says, “This was a difficult decision, but one that we think is best for the company long term.”
Amazon reported $127.4B in revenue for Q1 and remains optimistic about maintaining its position as one of the world’s largest retail conglomerates, while nearly 30,000 former employees are now out of a job.