Amazon layoffs may extend to 2023: Andy Jassy

Amazon is planning to cut more jobs in 2023 as it looks to make adjustments, CEO Andy Jassy informed employees in a new letter, which was later published as a blog post on Friday. Jassy said that the decision on how many roles will be impacted is yet to be taken and the company will inform the impacted employees and organisations in early 2023. 

“Our annual planning process extends into the new year, which means there will be more role reductions as leaders continue to make adjustments. Those decisions will be shared with impacted employees and organisations early in 2023,” said Jassy. 

Jassy further said that there will be reductions in stores and PXT organisations. He attributed the job cuts to the economic downturn that has impacted jobs across industries. 

“This year’s review is more difficult due to the fact that the economy remains in a challenging spot and we’ve hired rapidly the last several years,” added Jassy. 

In October, Amazon reported a steep drop in income due to weakening consumer demand. In its Q3 2022 earnings report, the e-commerce giant announced a year-on-year (YoY) decline in operating income from $4.9 billion to $2.5 billion in Q3 2022. The company’s net income also fell from $3.2 billion to $2.9 billion YoY in Q3 2022. In September, Amazon launched several new devices including new Echo speakers and Kindle ebook readers that can be used to take notes. 

On Wednesday, Amazon said that it is laying off some employees in its devices business, which includes its Alexa-enabled Echo devices. According to an NYT report, published November 14, Amazon could lay off as many as 10,000 employees this week. The job cuts will also impact the retail and human resources department, in addition to devices.  

This would make it the second biggest layoff after Meta announced that it’s trimming 13% of its workforce and parting with over 11,000 workers. 

Jassy further added Amazon is working with impacted workers and is trying to help them find new roles on teams that have an opening. Employees that won't be adjusted, will be provided with a separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and external job placement support, he added.