Amazon to Layoff Approximately 10,000 Employees — Retail Bum

Amazon is expected to lay off approximately 10,000 employees, roughly 3% of its corporate staff, as early as this week, media reports indicate.

If true, the move would represent the largest layoff in the company’s history.

The cuts are expected to impact organizations across the company, including its voice-assistant Alexa team, its retail division, and human resources.

Amazon corporate employees today represent less than 1% of its global workforce of more than 1.5 million, which is primarily composed of hourly workers.

The news follows Amazon’s decision to freeze hiring for corporate positions in its retail business and a slew of layoffs across the tech sector.

Recently, Meta laid off 11,000 employees following its lackluster performance in Q4. Meanwhile, Twitter let go of 50% of its staff but then looked to rehire some of them a few days later.

At the end of 2019, Amazon reported that it employed 798,000 workers but had 1.6 million full- and part-time employees as of December 31, 2021, a 102% increase. According to The New York Times, the total number of layoffs “remains fluid” and is subject to change.

Originally published at https://retailbum.com on November 15, 2022.