It's reported that Amazon (AMZN.O) is planning to cut nearly 30,000 corporate positions starting from Tuesday, in an effort to offset the excessive hiring during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic and to reduce costs. According to three sources close to the matter, although this figure constitutes a small percentage of Amazon's total workforce of 1.55 million, it corresponds to nearly 10% of its corporate staff of about 350,000.
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Source: Reuters
Over the past two years, Amazon has made minor layoffs in various departments such as devices, communication, and podcasting. However, the cuts this week could potentially impact a wide range of sectors within the company. These include Human Resources (PXT), operations, devices and services, and even Amazon Web Services (AWS), which stands as the company's most significant profit center.
According to eMarketer analyst Sky Canaves, this move demonstrates that Amazon has recognized the productivity gains derived from artificial intelligence (AI) within its corporate teams, which has in turn facilitated significant staff reductions. Furthermore, Jassy had previously indicated that the automation of repetitive and routine tasks through AI would lead to more job cuts in the future.
While the company is in the process of restructuring its corporate objectives, units such as AWS, which reported slowing sales growth in the third quarter, have found themselves under pressure.
Despite these corporate cutbacks, Amazon has announced plans to hire 250,000 seasonal workers for logistical and other needs during the holiday season, as it has done for the past two years.