Amazon To Layoff Over 18,000 Employees Starting January 18

Washington: As part of a previously disclosed workforce reduction, Amazon.com Inc. will now be eliminating more than 18,000 employees, according to Chief Executive Andy Jassy in a public staff letter on Wednesday.

The company’s e-commerce and human resources departments will be the most affected by the layoff choices, which Amazon will announce starting on January 18, he added.

The reductions, which reflect a quick flip for a retailer that recently quadrupled its base pay threshold to compete more fiercely for talent, account for 6% of Amazon’s approximately 300,000-person corporate workforce.

Annual planning ” has been more difficult given the uncertain economy and that we’ve hired rapidly over the last several years,” Jassy wrote in the note.

Following Walmart Inc. (WMT.N), Amazon is the second-largest private employer in America with more than 1.5 million employees, including warehouse staff. As rising inflation drove firms and consumers to cut back on spending and as its share price fell by half in the previous year, it has prepared for expected slower growth.

It started laying off employees from its devices section in November, with sources claiming at the time that it was aiming to cut down 10,000 jobs.