Amazon has started the massive layoffs announced this week, with which up to 10,000 workers would leave in the biggest cut in its history. Without further details on which areas and countries would be most affected, "no one is safe," an employee said on an internal channel, Bloomberg reports.
In Seattle, where it is based, it already laid off workers at the Alexa voice assistant and the Amazon Luna gaming platform on Tuesday. In California, it notified the authorities of the departure of 260 workers in various centers. It affects data analysts, software engineers, and other management positions. As by local law departures have to be notified 60 days in advance, they will be effective as of January 17. This applies in cuts of more than 75 workers.
Amazon employs more than 1.5 million workers worldwide, mostly part-time workers. The retail giant, like other tech and social media giants, made sizable gains during the covid pandemic as more items were bought online with the lockdown. But revenue growth has slowed as the worst of the pandemic has subsided, with less confidence in e-commerce.
Investors have been pessimistic on weaker-than-expected earnings and lackluster projections for the current quarter, which is usually good due to the holiday shopping season. Amazon's chief financial officer, Brian Olsavsky, recently said the company was preparing for what may be a period of slower growth and would be careful about hiring in the near future.
In an effort to cut costs, Amazon has already phased out some of its projects, including the fabrics subsidiary fabric.com, Amazon Care's telemedicine and the Scout home delivery robot. Device projects are expected to bear the brunt of the layoffs.
It is also stopping the expansion of its centers or opting to cancel contracts for new ships, including Spain (Reus, Girona, Seville and Vitoria).
The massive layoffs are added to those announced on Meta (Facebook) or Twitter in recent weeks, in the midst of a drop in the price and income of large technology companies due to less advertising.
