- Amazon began a round of corporate layoffs Tuesday. It reportedly wants to lay off 10,000 people.
- Amazon employees have complained of a communications vacuum from leadership.
Amazon began what is expected to be the most far-reaching round of corporate layoffs in its history on Tuesday, slashing headcount at units including Alexa, retail and human resources.
As colleagues were called into meetings and notified they were being laid off, some Amazon employees complained that a communication vacuum from leadership was adding to the sense of anxiety pervading the company. Thousands of employees joined an internal Slack channel Tuesday to discuss the layoffs and cobble together lists of divisions experiencing cuts, as well as those that would be saved.
Wednesday morning, Dave Limp, Amazon's senior vice president for devices and services, which houses Alexa, emailed employees to explain the rationale behind the cuts. Insider obtained a copy of the email, which was later posted to Amazon's external blog.
Limp pinned the layoffs on an adverse economic climate, but reassured his remaining employees that "when there's a difficult economy, customers tend to gravitate to the companies and products they believe have had the best customer experience and that take care of them the best. Historically, Amazon has done a very good job at this."
Read the letter from Limp below.
Folks,
At our last Town Hall in July, I talked a bit about the state of our economy. As you know, we continue to face an unusual and uncertain macroeconomic environment. In light of this, we've been working over the last few months to further prioritize what matters most to our customers and the business. After a deep set of reviews, we recently decided to consolidate some teams and programs. One of the consequences of these decisions is that some roles will no longer be required. It pains me to have to deliver this news as we know we will lose talented Amazonians from the Devices & Services org as a result. I am incredibly proud of the team we have built and to see even one valued team member leave is never an outcome any of us want.
We notified impacted employees yesterday, and will continue to work closely with each individual to provide support, including assisting in finding new roles. In cases where employees cannot find a new role within the company, we will support the transition with a package that includes a separation payment, transitional benefits, and external job placement support. We know people across the organization may be impacted differently by this news and will lead with compassion for all team members.
While I know this news is tough to digest, I do want to emphasize that the Devices & Services organization remains an important area of investment for Amazon, and we will continue to invent on behalf of our customers. Having gone through times like this in the past I know that when there's a difficult economy, customers tend to gravitate to the companies and products they believe have had the best customer experience and that take care of them the best. Historically, Amazon has done a very good job at this.
Thank you for the support and empathy that I know our team will show each other during this time. Please don't hesitate to ping me or your manager if you have any questions.
Dave
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