The Latest Wave of Layoffs at Amazon
Let me tell you about Amazon's decision to lay off about 16,000 employees on Wednesday, November 28. This move didn't just impact the U.S.; it reached Brazil as well. When I reached out to the company, they wouldn't disclose how many were let go here, but I spoke with a Brazilian who was affected and chose to remain anonymous. He knows others who were also dismissed, and he described it as 'scary.' You never expect it to happen to you, especially when you're performing well, he told me. There's nowhere to turn when it does.
This is the second round of layoffs since October, when Amazon cut another 14,000 jobs. In total, about 10% of the corporate workforce has been hit, according to Reuters. Across all areas, including distribution centers, Amazon employs around 1.5 million people worldwide.
Building Tension and the Announcement
Rumors of these new layoffs started circulating on Friday, November 23, putting everyone on edge. There was this suspicious silence since Monday, he said. The whole company was tense, suspecting something big was coming. On Tuesday, November 27, Amazon sent out a misleading email referring to the layoffs as 'Project Dawn.' It incorrectly stated that employees in the U.S., Canada, and Costa Rica had already been notified.
On the day of the layoffs, they sent him an invite to a video meeting with HR. The conversation was respectful but straightforward. He was told his performance wasn't the issue; his role was simply no longer needed. They gave him 40 minutes to remove personal files from his company laptop.
Justifications and Broader Implications
The explanation provided was that this is an attempt to eliminate layers, cut bureaucracy, and make the organization leaner. That's the official line from Beth Galetti, Amazon's vice president of people experience and technology. As she stated in a memo, they've been working since October to strengthen the organization by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and eliminating bureaucracy.
This ex-employee has seen mass layoffs at other companies and regrets that it's become normalized in tech. It's not normal to disrupt so many lives for optimization, especially when the company's last quarter was strong, he asserted. Big companies like this treat employees as numbers, and that's always cruel.
The Role of AI and Company Performance
In June 2023, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy projected that AI adoption would mean fewer people in current tasks and more in new types of work. Over the next few years, we expect this to reduce the total number of employees as we gain efficiencies from extensive AI use across the organization, he said.
The ex-employee noted that teams are encouraged to use AI, but he doesn't see it as the main cause here. We're obviously using AI, but I don't think that's it. It's more about cutting costs and delivering value to shareholders, he evaluated. Amazon will release its fourth-quarter 2023 results on Thursday, December 5. In the third quarter, revenue grew 13%, while profit stayed stable. The company also cut jobs in its Fresh and Go divisions, planning to close some stores and convert others to Whole Foods units focused on healthy foods.
