Amazon plans to lay off up to 1,000 employees in India: Report

Amazon has finally confirmed the exact number of employees that will be laid off in the coming weeks. The company is set to lay off 18,000 people but did not disclose which region will be hit hardest or other details. Now, it has come to light that the e-commerce giant plans to lay off around 1,000 in India, people familiar with the matter told CNBCTV18.

There is no official confirmation on this, but we know that the company will provide some pay packages to those affected by the layoff. Amazon said many people's jobs would be affected, so it will provide severance pay, transitional health insurance benefits and outside job placement support.

"S-team and I are deeply aware that these role eliminations are difficult for people, and we don't take these decisions lightly or underestimate how much they might affect the lives of those who are impacted. We are working to support those who are affected and are providing packages," the company said.

Amazon plans to lay off 1 per cent of its workforce in India as part of its layoff process, which has been going on for some time. The cited source claims that Amazon will lay off employees across the market and Devices teams in the Indian market. In a blog post, Amazon confirmed that most role removals globally would be in Amazon stores and PXT organizations.

Interestingly, the company had no plans to reveal its layoff plans any time soon because Amazon CEO Andy Jassy admitted that the e-commerce giant had to confirm the layoff news after one of his teammates leaked the information publicly. He shared in the blog post that Amazon first wanted to inform affected employees before announcing the layoffs.

"We typically wait to communicate about these outcomes until we can speak with the people who are directly impacted. However, because one of our teammates leaked this information externally, we decided it was better to share this news earlier so you can hear the details directly from me. The e-commerce website has confirmed that it will start communicating with impacted employees starting January 18, which is after one week," he said.