Amazon Announces Over 18,000 Job Cuts, Cites 'Uncertain Economy'

Amazon on Thursday announced that it would slash more than 18,000 jobs from its workforce, citing an ‘uncertain economy'.

Amazon on Thursday announced that it would cut more than 18,000 jobs from its workforce, citing an ‘uncertain economy' and the fact that the retail giant has ‘hired rapidly over the last several years.’

"Between the reductions we made in November and the ones we're sharing today, we plan to eliminate just over 18,000 roles," said CEO Andy Jassy in a statement published on its website on Thursday.

"Several teams are impacted; however, the majority of role eliminations are in our Amazon Stores and PXT organizations,"  the statement noted.

The company intends to communicate with impacted employees (or where applicable in Europe, with employee representative bodies) starting on January 18, it added.

"This year’s review has been more difficult given the uncertain economy and that we’ve hired rapidly over the last several years," the CEO said in the company update.

The company announced 10,000 layoffs in November. The company then announced eliminating a number of positions across its Devices and Books businesses, and a voluntary reduction offer for some employees in the People, Experience, and Technology (PXT) organization. "I also shared that we weren’t done with our annual planning process and that I expected there would be more role reductions in early 2023," he said.

Meanwhile, Salesforce aims to cut workforce after hiring ‘too many people,’ reported news agency Reuters.  Salesforce said it plans to cut jobs by 10 per cent and shut some offices after swift pandemic hiring left the company with a bloated workforce amid an economic slowdown.

The cloud-based software firm said on Wednesday the job cuts would lead to about $1.4 billion to $2.1 billion in charges, while only about $800 million to $1 billion will be recorded in the fourth quarter.

Several companies starting from Twitter to Meta Platforms have slashed thousands of jobs last year, in a bit to prepare for a recession expected as a result of aggressive interest rate hikes by global central banks to curb inflation.