American multinational company, Amazon, has revealed that it will lay off over 18,000 members of its workforce.
The layoffs will primarily affect the company’s human resources and e-commerce organizations, and will be communicated to the company’s staff starting January 18.
Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy, disclosed this in a public staff note, Reuters reports.
“Between the reductions we made in November and the ones we’re sharing today, we plan to eliminate just over 18,000 roles.
“We are working to support those who are affected and are providing packages that include a separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and external job placement support,” Jassy said in the note.
Media in the US had reported late last year that the company planned to let go of 10,000 people after Amazon announced the layoffs but did not give a specific figure.
The CEO however explained that the sudden nature of this announcement was “because one of our teammates leaked this information externally.”
“This year’s review has been more difficult given the uncertain economy and that we’ve hired rapidly over the last several years.
Folarin Kehinde is an Abuja-based journalist with over 5 years of experience in journalism. His work has earned him national and international recognition across various beats, including environment, health and politics.
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