Amazon lays off thousands, in part because AI enables Amazon “to innovate much faster than ever before”
Amazon will be laying off 14,000 corporate workers. This comes a day after Reuters initially reported that firings could reach up to 30,000 roles.
Most of the impacted employees, reports USA TODAY, will be offered 90 days to look for a new role within the company. Others who don’t remain with Amazon will be offered severance pay and other transition benefits, stated a memo from Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology.
Reuters reported that affected workers received emails on the morning of Oct. 28 notifying them that their job had been cut. When contacted by USA TODAY, Amazon did not share additional details about the timing of layoffs.
According to USA TODAY, “Galetti said in the memo that the cuts are “further reducing bureaucracy, removing layers, and shifting resources” but acknowledged that “some may ask why we’re reducing roles when the company is performing well.”
The reason, Galetti wrote, is that “we need to be organized more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership, to move as quickly as possible for our customers and business.”
She also cited the prevalence of artificial intelligence, saying it is “enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before.”
(Of note, Amazon’s second headquarters (HQ2) is in Arlington, Virginia. The first phase, states an online item, opened in mid-2023 and includes office towers and amenities. The project is a major economic development initiative expected to create thousands of jobs by 2030.)
More here.
