Amazon is reportedly planning to cut thousands of jobs as it pushes forward with a significant effort to streamline its global operations, according to multiple financial news sources. This fresh wave of speculation emerges a mere three months after the US technology and retail behemoth revealed plans to eliminate approximately 14,000 corporate positions.
Imminent Announcement Expected
On Friday, major news agencies Reuters and Bloomberg both reported that Amazon's chief executive, Andy Jassy, is preparing to announce these further job reductions in the coming days. The reports suggest that while the exact scale remains unconfirmed, the redundancies would number in the thousands and could potentially reach a magnitude similar to the previous substantial round of cuts announced in October.
Departments in the Firing Line
The anticipated cuts are expected to affect staff across several key divisions of the company. According to the reports, employees within Amazon Web Services (AWS), the Prime Video streaming service, various retail operations, and human resources departments are among those likely to be impacted by this new restructuring initiative.
A Strategic Shift Towards AI and Efficiency
This move aligns with strategic comments made by CEO Andy Jassy last summer. He highlighted that Amazon was likely to continue reducing its overall staff count in the coming years as it increasingly integrates artificial intelligence to handle a multitude of tasks across the business.
When announcing the previous organisational shake-up in October, Mr Jassy hinted that further cuts were probable, stating the company had identified "additional places we can remove layers" within its corporate structure to reduce bureaucracy.
Scale of Amazon's Workforce
The scale of these potential cuts must be viewed in the context of Amazon's vast global workforce. The company employed around 1.57 million people at the end of September last year. Of this total, approximately 350,000 were part of its corporate workforce, with the majority of employees working in its extensive network of fulfilment and sortation centres worldwide.
In the United Kingdom specifically, Amazon employs around 75,000 people across its various operations, including corporate offices and logistics facilities. The company has been contacted for official comment regarding the latest reports of impending job losses.
