Amazon cuts more jobs than previously planned as signs of a tech downturn deepen

Amazon.com Inc. has laid off more than 17,000 employees — a larger number than previously planned — in the latest sign that a tech downturn is deepening, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The cuts, which began last year, expected before which affects about 10,000 people. The decline is concentrated in the company’s corporate ranks, according to the Journal, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.

Although the prospect of layoffs has been looming at Amazon for months — the company has acknowledged it has hired more people during the pandemic — the increase overall suggests the company’s outlook has darkened. It joins other tech giants in making big cuts. Early Wednesday, Salesforce Inc. announces plans to eliminate about 10% of its workforce and reduce its real estate holdings.

Amazon’s investors have given a positive reaction to the latest belt-tightening efforts, betting that the e-commerce company’s profits could increase. Shares rose nearly 2% in late trading after the report.

The elimination of 17,000 workers is the largest cut for a tech company during the current slowdown, but Amazon also has a larger workforce than its Silicon Valley peers. It had more than 1.5 million employees at the end of September, meaning the latest cuts will represent about 1% of the workforce.

At the time the company planned its cuts in November, a spokeswoman said Amazon had roughly 350,000 corporate employees worldwide.

The world’s largest online retailer spent the end of last year adjusting to a sharp slowdown in e-commerce growth as shoppers returned to pre-pandemic habits. Amazon has delayed warehouse openings and halted hiring in its retail group. It extended the company’s staffing freeze and then began making cuts.

Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy is eliminating or curtailing experimental and unprofitable businesses, including teams working on a telehealth service, a delivery robot and a children’s video calling device , and other projects.

The Seattle-based company is also trying to match excess capacity with cooling demand. An effort involves an effort sell excess space on its cargo planes, according to people familiar with the matter.

The first wave of cuts landed the heaviest in Amazon’s Devices and Services group, which builds the Alexa digital assistant and Echo smart speaker, among other products. The head of the group told Bloomberg Last month that the unit’s layoffs totaled less than 2,000 people, and that Amazon remained committed to the voice assistant.

Other recruiters and employees in the company’s human resources group were offered buyouts. Jassy employees said in November that more cuts are coming in 2023 to its retail and HR teams.

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