Amazon axes 16,000 more jobs worldwide to 'remove bureaucracy'

"The latest round of layoffs follows the elimination of 14,000 white-collar jobs in October and forms part of Amazon's broader ambition to shed around 30,000 corporate roles. While the majority of the new cuts will fall in the United States, teams in the UK and India are also affected. Amazon employs around 75,000 people in Britain but has not disclosed how many UK positions could be lost."

"In a blog post to staff, Beth Galetti, Amazon's senior vice president of people experience and technology, said the company was continuing a restructuring programme first outlined last autumn. "As I shared in October, we've been working to strengthen our organisation by reducing layers, increasing ownership and removing bureaucracy," she said. US-based employees affected by the cuts will generally be given 90 days to seek alternative roles within the business, while the timing for staff in other countries will depend on local employment rules, Galetti added."

"Amazon has previously linked job reductions to the growing use of artificial intelligence, describing the current wave of AI as the most transformative technology since the internet. However, Andy Jassy has downplayed the role of AI in the decision, telling analysts that the layoffs were primarily cultural rather than financial. "You end up with a lot more people than what you had before, and you end up with a lot more layers," Jassy said during a recent earnings call."

Amazon announced a further 16,000 job cuts worldwide to slim down management layers and remove bureaucracy, following 14,000 white-collar layoffs in October. The reductions form part of a plan to cut about 30,000 corporate roles, with most losses in the United States and some in the UK and India. Around 75,000 people work for Amazon in Britain, but the number of UK job losses was not disclosed. Affected teams include Amazon Web Services, Prime Video, retail operations and people experience and technology. US-based affected employees generally receive 90 days to seek alternative roles; timing elsewhere varies by local employment rules. Executives framed the reductions as driven by excess layers and cultural factors while noting AI's broader influence on workforce changes.

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