Amazon reportedly begins mass layoffs; Alexa and cloud gaming divisions most impacted

Amazon has begun the process of laying off thousands of employees. The Washington Post and CNBC are reporting that some workers are being asked to find another job in the company soon or accept a severance package. Neither outlets confirm how many employees were affected the move.
New York Times Monday broke the story that Amazon will begin mass layoffs this week, mostly in retail, devices and cloud gaming division. The e-c0mmerce giant is planning to hand over pink slips to as many as 10,000 employees in corporate and technology decisions. Amazon’s cuts will reportedly affect thousands of employees working in the device’s unit, which houses voice-assant Alexa, as well as its retail division and human resources. According to the WSJ, the Alexa business has posted annual losses of $5 billion a year. has reached out to Amazon India for comment.

As of December 31, Amazon had about 1.6 million full-time employees and part-time employees and the reported cuts would represent 3 per cent of Amazon’s corporate workforce and less than 1 per cent of its global workforce.  Amazon founder Jeff Bezos had recently indicated that the US economy is either in or heading towards a recession.
Amazon, the world’s largest retailer, is the latest among the big technology companies to sack thousands of employees. Last week, Facebook’s parent Meta platforms said it would lay off more than 13 per cent of its staff or 11,000 employees. Twitter, which is now owned Elon Musk, has roughly cut around 3700 jobs or half of its 7500 workforce.