Amazon to lay off 9,000 more workers, including at AWS, as cost-cutting effort continues

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Amazon.com Inc. today announced that it will let go 9,000 employees as part of its ongoing effort to rein in operating expenses.

Amazon Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy detailed the move in a memo to workers that was also published on the company’s website. Jassy stated that affected employees will receive a separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits and access to job placement support. “This was a difficult decision, but one that we think is best for the company long term,” Jassy wrote in the memo.

Most of the 9,000 job cuts will take place at four business units: Amazon Web Services Inc., the company’s human resources and advertising units, and Twitch. Amazon plans to notify affected employees by mid- to late April.

The development comes after the company’s net income fell to $278 million in the fourth quarter from $14.3 billion a year earlier. Its revenue grew 9% year-over-year, to $149.2 billion, in the same time frame. AWS’ sales grew 21.7% after climbing 20% from the same time a year ago, but analysts polled for the Zacks consensus estimate had projected 22% growth. 

Amazon’s announcement of the job cuts today comes three months after a separate workforce reduction that hit  about 18,000 employees. As part of that restructuring, Amazon laid off employees at its human resources unit. The restructuring also impacted its Stores business, which includes the company’s flagship e-commerce marketplace. 

Both workforce reductions were implemented as part of the company’s annual business planning process. The reason the cuts were announced three months apart, Jassy explained in today’s memo to employees, is that some Amazon teams took longer than others to complete their planning. Jassy added that the company will continue hiring new employees in certain areas that it’s prioritizing as part of its long-term growth efforts.

“Given the uncertain economy in which we reside, and the uncertainty that exists in the near future, we have chosen to be more streamlined in our costs and headcount,” Jassy detailed in the memo. “The overriding tenet of our annual planning this year was to be leaner while doing so in a way that enables us to still invest robustly in the key long-term customer experiences that we believe can meaningfully improve customers’ lives and Amazon as a whole.”

Amazon is one of several major tech firms to have launched workforce reduction initiatives in recent months. Last week, Meta Platforms Inc. announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs in its second major round of layoffs since November. Earlier, Microsoft Corp. disclosed plans to let go 5% of its workforce and stated that it expects to take a $1.2 billion charge in connection with the move. 

Photo: Amazon