Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing giant, on Wednesday announced the elimination of several hundred positions across sales, marketing, and technology departments, Reuters reported. This move follows a string of recent job cuts by its parent company, Amazon.com.
While the exact number of affected employees is still unclear, the latest round of layoffs have reportedly impacted a few hundred employees each in AWS’ sales, marketing, and global services division, along with the physical stores technology team. Quoting an unnamed AWS spokesperson, the report noted that the move follows the company’s decision of streamlining of specific areas within the organization. Another report by The Information suggested that the sales, marketing, and global services division’s cuts (which employs over 60,000 people) are part of a larger reorganization spearheaded by sales chief Matt Garman.
This isn’t the first time Amazon has made workforce reductions in 2024. Hundreds of employees were previously let go from divisions like Prime Video, the healthcare business, and the Alexa voice assistant unit. Reportedly, Amazon has already downsized its workforce by more than 27,000 in 2022 and 2023, following a pandemic-era hiring surge across the tech sector. While announcing a massive layoff last year, which affected more than 18,000 employees, Amazon’s Chief Executive Andy Jassy said that these changes would aid the company in pursuing long-term opportunities with a stronger cost structure.
This news resonates with the broader layoff trend in the tech industry. Giants like Google, Meta, etc. have announced workforce reductions, citing economic slowdowns and the need to adapt to changing market conditions. Despite the recent slowdown in growth due to economic uncertainty, there are reportedly signs of stabilization in Amazon’s cloud business. The company exceeded quarterly revenue expectations in February, marking their strongest performance in six quarters. However, AWS faces increased competition from Microsoft, which holds an early advantage in capitalizing on generative AI through its investment in OpenAI.
