Amazon to Cut 70% More Jobs Than Previously Planned, WSJ Says

According to the Wall Street Journal, more than 17,000 employees are being laid off by Amazon.

About 10,000 people were expected to be affected by the cuts. According to the Journal, the reduction is focused in the corporate ranks.

The increasing total suggests that the company's outlook has darkened despite the threat of layoffs. Other tech giants have made cuts. The company plans to eliminate about 10% of its workforce.

Amazon investors were positive about the latest belt-tightening efforts at the company. After the report, the shares increased in late trading.

Amazon has a much bigger workforce than Silicon Valley peers, so eliminating 17,000 workers would be the biggest cut yet for tech companies. As of the end of September, it had more than 1.5 million employees.

Amazon had 350,000 corporate employees around the world at the time of the planned cuts.

At the end of last year, the world's largest online retailer adjusted to a sharp slowdown in e- commerce growth as shoppers returned to pre-pandemic habits. Amazon stopped hiring in its retail group. The freeze was expanded to include the corporate staff.

Andy Jassy has eliminated experimental and unprofitable businesses, including teams working on a telehealth service, a delivery robot, and a kids' video calling device.

Excess capacity is being aligned with cooling demand. People familiar with the matter say that the company is trying to sell excess space on its planes.

The first wave of cuts went to the Devices and Services group, which builds the Alexa and other products. According to the group's chief, there were less than 2,000 layoffs in the unit, and that Amazon remained committed to the voice assistant.

Recruiters and employees in the human resources group were offered the chance to leave. In November, Jassy told employees that there would be more cuts in the years to come.