Amazon has announced it will cut 9,000 jobs across its global operations, the second major layoff this year. The company said the layoffs would be made in the cloud services, advertising, and live streaming sectors.
In a letter to employees, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy noted that the company had hired numerous individuals in the prior few years; however, due to an uncertain economic landscape, cost reductions necessitate that it scale back the quantity of personnel. Amazon employs more than 1.5 million people worldwide, the Guardian reports.
The company has been systematically cutting operating costs, announcing earlier this month that it was pausing construction on its second headquarters in Virginia, slowing the expansion of its distribution centers, warehouses, and other facilities, and in some cases scrapping planned projects altogether.
Amazon’s second round of deep cuts this year follows a similar decision by Meta, which announced plans to cut another 10,000 jobs last week and imposed a moratorium on new hires. In November, Meta announced the layoffs of 11,000 people. Twitter, as well as other technology companies, are also conducting large-scale layoffs.
Last year, technology companies laid off about 150,000 employees worldwide. According to data from the specialized web portal Layoffs, there should be more than 139,000 layoffs this year. Technology companies are cutting jobs due to uncertain economic conditions in major markets such as the US and adjusting costs after a major expansion during the pandemic.
Amazon shuts down online learning platform for high school students in India
Amazon announced that less than two years after the launch, it is closing its online learning platform for secondary school students in India without citing any definite explanation.
When virtual learning saw a surge at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon Academy launched its platform. As Reuters states, the platform offered training for various tests, the most prominent being the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) which grants access to some of India’s leading engineering colleges.
