Amazon plans to lay off tens of thousands of workers this week, its biggest layoff since cutting about 27,000 workers at the end of 2022.
As first reported by Reuters, Andy Jassy’s e-commerce giant plans to cut as many as 30,000 workers, nearly 10% of its workforce, as early as Tuesday. The job cuts come just before Amazon releases its latest quarterly results on Thursday and are part of an effort to “cut costs and compensate for overhiring during peak demand during the pandemic,” according to Reuters sources.
As of the end of March, Amazon reported 1.56 million employees, an increase of 3% from the same period last year. According to Reuters, the company employs about 350,000 people.
Amazon representatives did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for comment on Monday.
Back in June, Amazon CEO Jassy sent a memo to staff outlining that generative AI would soon “make our jobs even more exciting and fun than they already are,” but that the number of jobs across the company would also be reduced.
“As we further deploy generative AI and agents, it will change the way we work,” the CEO said. “Some jobs that are done today will need to be done by fewer people, and other types of jobs will require more people. Over time, it’s difficult to know exactly where this will impact us, but we expect this to result in reduced headcount across the company over the next few years as widespread use of AI across the company improves efficiency.”
