The layoffs amount to a small portion of the unit’s total workforce, Reuters reported Wednesday (May 14), citing a company spokesperson.
“As part of our ongoing work to make our teams and programs operate more efficiently, and to better align with our product roadmap, we’ve made the difficult decision to eliminate a small number of roles,” the spokesperson said, according to the report.
Amazon’s devices and services unit is responsible for the Kindle eReader, Echo smart home devices, Alexa voice assistant and Zoox robotaxi, the report said. The spokesperson did not say which divisions saw layoffs, it added.
Bloomberg also reported on the job cuts Wednesday, noting that Amazon has made several rounds of layoffs targeting specific departments and the company has about 1.56 million full– and part-time employees.
In January, Amazon laid off dozens of people in its communications department. A company spokesperson said at the time that the changes were made after a review “to help us move faster, increase ownership, strengthen our culture, and brings teams closer to customers.”
It was reported at the time that Amazon has cut tens of thousands of corporate jobs since Andy Jassy became the company’s CEO in 2021. These include 27,000 positions eliminated in corporate job cuts that began in 2022, as well as smaller numbers of layoffs in a series of smaller rounds focused on particular departments and roles.
When announcing in January 2023 that Amazon planned to lay off more than 18,000 workers, Jassy said the economy was uncertain, the company had hired rapidly for several years, and leaders across the company were prioritizing the things that matter most to customers and the long-term health of the business.
In September, Jassy said Amazon planned to reduce the number of managers in each of its organizations and require employees to work primarily in an office.
“If we do this work well, it will increase our teammates’ ability to move fast, clarify and invigorate their sense of ownership, drive decision-making closer to the front lines where it most impacts customers (and the business), decrease bureaucracy, and strengthen our organizations’ ability to make customers’ lives better and easier every day,” Jassy said.
