20,000 Amazon layoffs are anticipated, including top managers: Report
Amazon, a global leader in retail and cloud computing, plans to let off up to 20,000 employees in the coming months, including corporate executives, IT specialists, and employees at fulfilment centres. This follows a hiring frenzy during the pandemic.
Sources with intimate knowledge of the situation who spoke with Computerworld on the condition of anonymity said that personnel at all levels—levels 1 through 7—will probably be impacted. The initial news of Amazon’s major layoffs and the termination of 10,000 employees came from the NYT in mid-November.
In contrast, company managers have recently been instructed to look for employee issues with work performance as part of a plan to fire around 20,000 people, according to the article. 20 000 employees equate to roughly 6% of corporate staff and roughly 1.3 % of Amazon’s overall 1.5 million-person workforce, which includes hourly and worldwide distribution centre employees.
According to their employment contracts, employees are entitled to severance pay and a 24-hour notice of termination, according to the study. One of the individuals, who was notified personally about the layoff effort, suggested that there is a sense of concern among firm workers as a result of the disclosure.
The corporation would have its largest personnel reduction in history as a result of the layoffs.
The organization as a whole is experiencing layoffs; no specific division or location has been identified. We were told that this is because the business overhired during the pandemic and needed to decrease costs because its financial situation has been deteriorating,” stated the insider.
Andy Jassy, the CEO of Amazon, confirmed that layoffs were taking place on November 17 in a public statement to staff in response to the NYT report. He did not, however, provide any information regarding the anticipated number of layoffs.
Because our annual planning process extends into the new year, there will be more role reductions as leaders continue to make adjustments. Those selections will be announced to the companies and employees who will be impacted early in 2023. Jassy stated in the message that the company would be giving a voluntary reduction offer to select employees in the People, Experience, and Technology (PXT) division and that the business had already announced reductions in the Products and Books divisions.
Meanwhile, it has apparently been revealed by insiders that the company’s robotics team has shrunk. An Amazon spokesperson reportedly stated that they were unsure of the precise number of positions that would be affected, repeating the CEO’s remarks from November 17: “Although we are aware that there will be cutbacks in our Stores and PXT institutions, we are still unsure exactly how many other roles will be impacted.
Each leader will let their respective teams know as soon as we know more. Third company closure in a week as Amazon India shuts down its B2B distribution arm.
Amazon has closed its B2B distribution subsidiary Amazon Distribution, marking the company’s third business closure in India in the past week. This follows the company’s announcement that it would shut down both its food delivery business, Amazon Food, and its edtech division, Amazon Academy.
Three cities in Karnataka—Bengaluru, Mysuru, and Hubballi—were serviced by Amazon Distribution, which provided supplies including food and stationery to neighbourhood Kirana businesses.
After conducting an annual operations planning review, an Amazon spokesman said that Amazon Distribution would be shut down.
The representative said, “We have decided to stop Amazon Distribution, our wholesale e-commerce website for small neighbourhood retailers around Bengaluru, Mysore, and Hubli. This decision was reached as part of our yearly operations planning review process.
The program will be phased out, according to the statement, “to care for current customers and partners, and we are assisting our affected staff during this transition.” The corporation, according to the statement, continuously assesses the development and potential of products and services to provide value to customers and makes adjustments in light of such evaluations.
Amazon declared that it is still dedicated to the Indian market and that it will make further investments in grocery, cell phones, consumer electronics, fashion & beauty, as well as B2B services like Amazon Business. The ongoing functioning of Amazon Business is a B2B marketplace where independent vendors only sell to other businesses.
On November 24 and 25, respectively, it announced the closing of the food delivery and edtech divisions.
A notice to restaurant partners informed them that Amazon Food, which launched in May 2020, would be discontinued as of December 29. Amazon’s plan to shut down the three companies comes as profitability for the Indian firm, which has received a $6.5 billion investment, remains elusive, according to a Bernstein study.
A foreign company like Amazon is prohibited by restrictions from using an inventory-led business model, it was further stated. A poorer value proposition in “new” commerce, such as rapid commerce, low traction in tier 2 and 3 cities, and an unfriendly regulatory climate for outsiders are other challenges the company confronts, according to a Bernstein analysis published in August.
The actions by Amazon also coincide with the company’s announcement of layoffs and its offer of voluntary retirement to Indian employees. 10,000 job cutbacks are anticipated at the corporation, according to reports from throughout the world.
In a letter to staff members, CEO Andy Jassy explained that because the company’s yearly planning process goes into 2023, more job cutbacks would be necessary as adjustments are made. His statement stated that “such decisions would be communicated with impacted employees and organizations early in 2023.”
The Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate, an employee union in India, filed a complaint against Amazon stating that workers were being coerced to leave the company. The Labour Ministry then summoned Amazon as a result of the complaint.
