The internet group Amazon has started with the first major job cuts in the company’s history. Dave Limp, Amazon’s senior vice president of Devices & Services, reached out to his department’s staff on Wednesday (local time) to justify the job cuts. According to reports, the group wants to cut some 10,000 jobs. Limp did not confirm the number and spoke of a “consolidation”.
The Amazon manager spoke of an “unusual and uncertain macroeconomic environment”. “After a thorough review, we recently decided to consolidate some teams and programs. One of the consequences of these decisions is that some functions are no longer needed. It pains me to break this news as we know we will lose talented Amazonians from the Devices & Services organization.”
Employees have now been informed
The affected employees were personally informed on Tuesday. Limp explained that they would support each individual and help them find a new job. Employees who are no longer able to join Amazon should receive a package of severance payments, transition payments and external job placement support.
Around 1.6 million people work at Amazon worldwide, most of them in the logistics centers of the online retail giant. The division that provides the voice assistant Alexa, the smart Echo speakers and artificial intelligence applications is particularly affected by the cuts. Industry insiders estimate that this area is in short supply. So far, Amazon executives have fallen short of expectations that future online orders will increasingly be processed through Alexa and an Echo device.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
