Tech behemoth Amazon has unveiled plans to slash jobs affecting numerous employees in its cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services (AWS), marking a strategic shift amid evolving business priorities.
AWS, a pivotal segment of Amazon’s revenue stream, accounting for 14% of its total earnings as per the latest financial disclosure, has witnessed substantial growth in recent years.
In a bid to realign its operational focus, Amazon has opted to discontinue its self-checkout system, Just Walk Out, across its physical stores, introduced in 2020, underscoring a recalibration of its retail strategy.
The job cuts, impacting several hundred positions in sales, marketing, global services, and the physical store technology team, were deemed necessary by the company to optimise resources and foster innovation for its clientele.
Acknowledging the challenging decision, an AWS spokesperson affirmed the company’s commitment to ongoing investments and recruitment endeavours to propel core business functions and drive customer-centric innovation.
While the majority of the job reductions are expected to occur at Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle, the repercussions will extend globally across its operational footprint.
Amazon has pledged to provide affected US-based employees with at least 60 days of pay and benefits, facilitate job placement assistance, and extend transitional health coverage, along with severance packages.
Despite the job cuts, Amazon remains steadfast in its pursuit of bolstering artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, exemplified by recent investments in AI safety and research initiatives such as Anthropic.
The tech landscape, characterised by fierce competition among industry titans like Microsoft, underscores the escalating race to advance AI technologies and capabilities, including ventures like ChatGPT.
Earlier in January, Amazon initiated a workforce reduction across its subsidiaries, Twitch, Prime Video, and MGM Studios, with over 500 Twitch employees and additional staff facing layoffs.
Reflecting broader trends in the tech sector, which saw a surge in job cuts, totaling 168,032 in 2023—a stark 73% increase compared to the previous year—Amazon’s restructuring efforts underscore the evolving dynamics and competitive pressures reshaping the industry.
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