Amazon On Wednesday, it launched the latest wave of job cuts for corporate employees in what is poised to be the largest layoff in the company’s history.
Employees were notified of the cut in emails sent by the company’s global retail head Doug Herrington and human resources head Beth Garretti, CNBC confirmed. announced that it would cut more than 100,000 employees.
Amazon’s Human Resources and Stores divisions could be among the organizations most severely impacted by job cuts. The company plans to notify all affected employees in the United States, Canada and Costa Rica by the end of the day, Galetti and Herrington said in a memo.
Employees in other regions may be notified later. For example, in China, employees are notified after Chinese New Year.
The job cuts come after a period of rapid headcount growth at Amazon during the Covid-19 pandemic. In November, CEO Andy Jassy said the company would begin cutting roles, mostly in its devices and recruiting organizations.
Jassy is also conducting an extensive review of Amazon’s expenses. Amazon has froze corporate employee hiring, halted several experimental projects and slowed warehouse expansions, considering the economic slowdown and slowing growth in its core retail business. rice field.
WW store team,
We would like to inform you that today we will be notifying employees affected by our decision to reduce the number of employees in our Amazon WW stores. Notification emails will be sent to affected employees shortly. All notices for the United States, Canada and Costa Rica are expected to be completed by the end of today. In other areas, we follow legal process. This may include time for consultations with employee representative bodies starting today, and communication with affected employees may take longer. We will also notify our employees after Chinese New Year in China.
It’s hard to say goodbye to so many talented colleagues, but we’re working hard to reduce our service delivery costs so we can continue to invest in the wide selection, low prices, and fast shipping that our customers love. an important part of the effort. During Covid, our number one priority was scaling to meet the needs of our customers while ensuring the safety of our employees. I am very proud of the work of this team during this period. While other companies may have been hesitant by the short-term economic climate, we prioritized investing in our customers and employees during this unprecedented time.
It’s been difficult pulling back from Covid this past year. Labor shortages, supply chain problems, inflation, and productivity overhangs from significantly expanding fulfillment and transportation networks during the pandemic have increased the cost of services. As we head into 2023, we are stuck in an era of economic uncertainty. As such, we have determined that further steps need to be taken to improve our cost structure. This allows us to continue to invest in customer experiences that attract customers to Amazon and grow our business.
Unfortunately, plans to improve our cost structure include reducing roles. It is painful and rare for us to take this step. I know how difficult this can be for affected individuals and their loved ones. Our goal is to ensure that all affected employees are supported in this transition. So, for example, in the US, we offer packages that include a 60-day transitional period and full salary and benefits, plus a few more weeks of vacation. Retirement allowance, separation allowance, transitional allowance, external employment support according to the length of service. We would like to personally thank everyone affected by the plan change for their contributions to our customers and the wider team.
Reducing roles is one of several steps we’re taking to reduce the cost of our services. We’re also increasing local inventory during the hottest times, making it easier to ship multiple items together, and providing more affordable ways to buy the daily necessities you need to keep your home up and running. . It aims to reduce network and delivery costs. And by improving our cost structure, we can continue to make meaningful investments in big growth areas like Grocery, Amazon Business, Buy with Prime, and Healthcare.
We know that this is a difficult time for all of you during your stay, but it is important that you support each other. We are saying goodbye to those with whom we have worked closely. We have a lot of hard work ahead to innovate for our customers. We don’t want to eliminate a single role, but we are making these changes now so that we can continue to invest in improving the customer experience that will strengthen our business in the long term.
As I have shared with many of you, I have never been more optimistic about the opportunities that lie ahead. For over 25 years, we’ve been innovating for our customers, but in many ways we’re just getting started. Reducing service delivery costs will be a top priority in the coming years to fund more innovation. It’s not just about doing more with less, it’s also about rethinking how you serve your customers, how you organize your company, and what new areas of innovation you invest in. Every team has a role to play in finding ways to reduce costs while improving selection and pricing. , and delivery speed. I am confident that Amazoners will bring ownership, innovation, and a bias for action to this challenge to unlock even more value for our customers.
Doug
all,
Today we took the difficult step of reducing roles across Amazon. Several teams are affected, but the majority of role removals are in the WW Amazon Stores business and the People Experience & Technology (PXT) organization.
Conversations with affected employees took place around the world today, and a notification message was sent to all affected employees in the United States, Canada and Costa Rica this morning Pacific Time. Providing many resources to affected employees, PXT leaders today hold country-specific briefings for the United States and Canada while preparing meetings with his members of each affected team. To do. Other regions follow local processes. This may include consultation time with employee representative bodies, which may take time to communicate with affected employees. In China, we notify employees after Chinese New Year.
Our priority going forward is to help those affected. To help you transition, we offer packages that include installment payments, country-specific transition benefits, and external job placement assistance.
Please continue to show the support and care I often see here on Amazon. This is a very difficult time and we encourage you to reach out to My HR if you have any questions. And don’t forget that the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available 24/7, free and confidential.
Beth