Report: Amazon Could Be Readying to Lay Off 10,000 Workers

Amazon is planning to lay off approximately 10,000 employees in corporate and technology roles beginning this week, according to a report from The New York Times on Monday.

According to the report, these cuts would be the largest in the company’s history, and would primarily impact Amazon’s devices organization, retail division and human resources. The reported layoffs would represent less than 1% of Amazon’s global workforce of over 1 million and 3% of its corporate employees.

FN has reached out to Amazon for confirmation. Shares for the retailer were down 1.32% in mid-day trading on Monday following the report.

This move comes as the e-commerce giant posted lower than expected earnings in the third quarter last month. The Seattle-based retailer reported net sales in Q3 increased 15% to $127.1 billion in the third quarter, compared with $110.8 billion in third quarter 2021. This is lower than the expected amount of $127.46 billion.

“There is obviously a lot happening in the macroeconomic environment, and we’ll balance our investments to be more streamlined without compromising our key long-term, strategic bets,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said at the time of the earnings report. “What won’t change is our maniacal focus on the customer experience, and we feel confident that we’re ready to deliver a great experience for customers this holiday shopping season.”

Amazon isn’t the only tech company announcing large layoffs in recent weeks. Last week, Facebook parent company announced it would eliminate 11,000 jobs, or 13% of its staff. Twitter also laid off 3,700 workers following a messy takeover from Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Retail companies are also cutting staff. Last week, StockX confirmed to FN that it is undergoing another round of layoffs as the company buckles under the pressure of current economic headwinds. The layoffs impacted less than 80 team members, according to other reports of the layoffs. The new cuts come shortly after StockX laid off affect 8% of the company’s total workforce in June.

In October, Foot Locker said it is closing a distribution center in Wausau, Wis. and laying off 210 employees. And in September, Nordstrom confirmed it would lay off more than 200 employees in a fulfillment center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in October. The center previously employed over 1,100 people.

Gap Inc., Rent the Runway, Walmart and more companies have also announced layoffs in recent months.