Amazon to layoff 20,000 employees based on job performance

It appears that Amazon plans to lay off as many as 20,000 employees at the company, which is double what was previously reported. Amazon will lay off people in various regions: distribution centre workers, technology staff, and corporate executives. The layoffs will take place in the coming months, people familiar with the matter told Computer World.

This is not a surprise, considering that Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently confirmed that Amazon is preparing to lay off employees in various departments. But he did not disclose the number of employees who would be affected. In November, some inside sources told The New York Times that the company planned to lay off 10,000 employees.

A new report claims that this number has increased and that Amazon plans to lay off people at all levels, including those at the top. According to the source cited, the company's managers have reportedly been told to evaluate employees' job performance, so Amazon can start laying off some 20,000 people.

The e-commerce giant would cut 6 per cent of corporate staff and about 1.3 per cent of Amazon's workforce of 1.5 million, which even includes global distribution centre and hourly workers.

The cited source reported that corporate staff have already been alerted that affected employees will be sent a 24-hour notice and severance pay. "There is a sense of fear among employees in the company as the news has come out," a source told Computer World, who was briefed on the layoff news.

The source said, "There is no specific department or location mentioned for the cuts; it is across the business. We were told this is as a result of over-hiring during the pandemic and the need for cost-cutting as the company's financials have been on a declining trend."

Amazon's CEO recently announced that the dismissal process would continue for a few months and that affected employees will be informed once the company evaluates everything. Therefore, the number of reductions could have increased as it is rigorously reviewing all departments in all regions to save costs.