Amazon cut more than 300 jobs at Zappos – about a fifth of the workforce – in last month's mass layoffs, report says

• Amazon cut more than 300 jobs at its subsidiary Zappos last month, The Wall Street Journal reported.
• Customer service reps were some of those who lost their roles at the shoe and clothing retailer.

More than 300 jobs at Amazon-owned Zappos were quietly cut last month amid mass layoffs at the online retailer, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The shoe and clothing retailer cut about a fifth of its workforce in January, according to a Zappos memo seen by The Journal.

Some of the eliminated roles included customer service representatives, per the report that cited people with knowledge of the layoffs.

The job cuts were "ultimately made to ensure Zappos is set up to continue to provide an exceptional customer experience, long-term," Laura Davis of Zappos told The Journal. They were part of the company's regular business planning, she added.

Las Vegas-based Zappos, which operates independently of Amazon, was acquired for $1.2 billion by the retail giant in 2009.

The Zappos layoffs come alongside the largest job cuts in Amazon's history last month when it scrapped more than 18,000 roles.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told staff in a memo on January 4 that it was eliminating most roles in the Amazon Stores and People Experience and Technology Solutions divisions.

He said in the memo that it had "hired rapidly" in recent years but that this year's review was "more difficult" because of the economic downturn.

Amazon-brand aggregator Boosted Commerce also made job cuts this month as it laid off 16 employees. A Boosted Commerce representative told Insider that 20% of its full-time staff based in the US were affected. The representative also said it was part of an effort to focus on its most successful target markets, such as wholesale retail brands.

Amazon and Zappos didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.