Amazon’s confirms its massive layoffs will affect 18,000 employees

According to a memo from CEO Andy Jassy, most of the roles being eliminated will be in Amazon Stores and People, Experience, and Technology organizations.

The New York Times reported in November that the company was planning to cut its workforce by 10,000. The company said it had over one million employees.

Between November cuts and today's announcement, Amazon will have laid off 18,000 people.

The Wall Street Journal reported that there would be over 17,000 layoffs. The company will typically wait to communicate about these outcomes until we can speak with the people who are directly impacted, but that it was sharing the news because a teammate leaked it. On January 18th, impacted workers would have found out.

Over the last few months, Amazon admitted it was merging some teams and programs in its hardware and services division. The company didn't confirm the original number. Until now the company has been very vague about how many positions are being affected.

In October, Amazon announced that it had returned to double-digit sales growth, thanks to its "Biggest Prime Day event ever" in July. It said that it was making progress in cutting costs. On January 3rd, it reported to the SEC that it had taken out an $8 billion loan. The company has been using different financing options to support capital expenditures, debt repayments, acquisitions and working capital needs as it navigates an uncertain macroeconomic environment, according to a spokesman.

A separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and external job placement support are offered by the company.

One of the largest reductions from a tech giant has been made by Amazon. In the past few months, Meta announced that it was laying off around 11,000 employees, while companies like Intel have announced that they are planning to make significant cuts. Vimeo said it would be laying off 11 percent of its staff, whileSalesforce said it would be cutting 10% of its workforce.

Andy Jassy gave information about what teams would be affected by the layoffs.