Amazon, the
e-commerce, giant is laying off a large number of employees, the company has
confirmed after New York Times first reported that the multinational was
looking to lose nearly 10,000 people. The lay offs at Amazon follow similar
downsizing at Elon Musk’s Twitter and Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta. Amazon is rationalising
its lay offs in terms of roll redundancy saying certain roles will no longer be
required.

“After a
deep set of reviews, we recently decided to consolidate some teams and programmes.
One of the consequences of these decisions is that some roles will no longer be
required,” said Dave Limp, Amazon’s hardware chief, in a memo to workers on
Wednesday.

Also Read | Elon Musk on Twitter layoffs: No choice when company is losing over $4 million per day

“It pains
me to have to deliver this news as we know we will lose talented Amazonians
from the Devices & Services org as a result,” Limp said, adding that the
company has notified affected employees and will work with every individual to
provide support, including helping them find new roles within the company.

The number
of expected layoffs, pegged at 10,000, according to the New York Times report,
will be the biggest downsizing in the company’s history. Nearly 3% of Amazon’s
corporate workforce is expected to be removed, however, the real number remains
fluid.

Also Read | Six of the biggest layoffs in Tech, so far

Kelly
Nantel, Amazon spokesperson, said the projected layoffs are part of the company’s
annual operating planning review process. “As part of our annual operating planning
review process, we always look at each of our businesses and we believe we
should change. As we’ve gone through this, given the current macro-economic
environment, some teams are making adjustments, which in some cases means
certain roles are no longer necessary.”

“We don’t
take these decisions lightly, and we are working to support any employees who
may be affected,” said Nantel, according to a TechCrunch report.

The company
will primarily lose people in the device organisation, retail and human resources
divisions. Employees have been told by managers to find another role within the
company or accept severance, CNBC reported.