E-commerce giant Amazon may lay off close to 20,000 employees, including top managers, in the coming months, a report published by Computerworld said. The company is expected to discharge workers belonging to the distribution centre, technology and corporate wings.
Amazon categorises employees from Levels 1 to 7, and the layoff is likely to affect employees at all levels, as per sources with direct knowledge of the matter, who spoke with Computerworld requesting anonymity.
The retrenchment follows an unprecedented hiring spree during the pandemic when e-commerce companies had witnessed remarkable growth thanks to stay-home orders issued by countries around the globe.
Earlier last month, the New York Times reported that Amazon is planning to lay off up to 10,000 employees.
However, the new report suggests that the condition at Amazon may be direr than expected as it suggests that the cloud computing giant may be looking at laying off its 20,000 employees.
As per reports, the company had reportedly asked managers to identify employee performance problems. 20,000 employees amount to nearly 1.3 per cent of the company’s total workforce of 1.5 million globally. This includes employees in non-permanent categories too.
OpIndia cannot independently verify the report.
The Computerworld report said Amazon employees will receive a 24-hour notice and severance pay if they were laid off. It would be the largest layoff in the company’s history.
“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,” a source told Computerworld.
