Retail gaint Amazon is said to be laying off hundreds of workers within its Prime Video and MGM Studios division, the media has reported. Mike Hopkins, the Senior Vice President of the division, revealed the layoffs in an email, citing the need to "reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact", says a report in TechCrunch.
Amazon has initiated notifying the impacted US employees and plans to inform the majority of workers in other regions by week's end. The company is offering packages comprising separation payment, transitional benefits and external career transition support.
“Our prioritisation of initiatives that we know will move the needle, along with our continued investments in programming, marketing and product, positions our business for an even stronger future,” Hopkins was quoted as saying by the TechCrunch report.
“This is a difficult decision to make and one that my leadership team and I do not take lightly,” Hopkins reportedly wrote in a memo to employees.
“It is hard to say goodbye to talented Amazonians who’ve made meaningful contributions on behalf of our customers, team and business. Thank you for your dedication and work.”
The e-commerce behemoth is also gearing up to launch advertisements on Amazon Prime Video and a more expensive ad-free subscription tier in select markets, mirroring the approaches of streaming rivals such as Netflix and Walt Disney.
Currently, the allocation of the reductions within Amazon Prime Video and MGM Studios remains uncertain.
Meanwhile, Twitch, the live game streaming platform owned by Amazon, is also said to be reducing its workforce by 35 per cent, which is approximately 500 employees, this week. Twitch had already undertaken layoffs last year and ceased operations in South Korea due to "prohibitively expensive" costs.