Following a hiring spree during the pandemic, Amazon may lay off 20,000 workers in various departments in the coming months. Employees from all levels of the company, from Grades 1 to 7, are expected to be affected by the layoffs, according to a Computerworld report.
The New York Times (NYT) reported in November that Amazon may lay off up to 10,000 employees.
The company has reportedly asked managers to identify employee performance issues in the last few days. 20,000 employees would represent nearly 1.3 percent of Amazon’s total global workforce of 1.5 million. Non-permanent employees are included as well.
If they are laid off, Amazon employees will be given a 24-hour notice and severance pay. It would be the most significant layoff in the company’s history.
“There is no specific department or location mentioned for the cuts; it is across the business. We were told this is as a result of over-hiring during the pandemic and the need for cost-cutting as the company’s financials have been on a declining trend,” According to a source at Computerworld.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy confirmed layoffs to employees in a message sent to employees on November 17. He did not, however, say how many employees would be laid off.
“This year’s review is more difficult due to the fact that the economy remains in a challenging spot and we’ve hired rapidly the last several years,” Jassy wrote.
“We haven’t concluded yet exactly how many other roles will be impacted (we know that there will be reductions in our Stores and PXT organisations), but each leader will communicate to their respective teams when we have the details nailed down. And, as has been the case this week, we will prioritise communicating directly with impacted employees before making broad public or internal announcements,” he added.
“We are working to support those who are affected and trying to help them find new roles on teams that have a need; and in cases where that’s not possible, we are offering packages that include a separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and external job placement support,” the letter further read.
On November 30, at the NYT DealBook Summit, Jassy defended the mass layoffs, saying, “We just felt like we needed to streamline our costs.”