Amazon is laying off ‘several hundred’ employees at Prime Video and MGM Studios

Amazon is laying off hundreds of people across Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, as reported by Variety. This is for the usual reason. The company found a way to save some money and went for it. You know the drill. Amazon's entertainment chief Mike Hopkins wrote in an email to staff that it has “identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact.”

Hopkins didn’t give an exact number, but did note that “several hundred” employees would be given walking papers and that most American workers will know by the end of the day, with global employees following suit by the end of the week. He also wrote that “it is hard to say goodbye to talented Amazonians.” 

Amazon says it’ll help laid off workers with benefit packages that will include a separation payment and external job placement support. The company promises “continued investments in programming, marketing and product," despite the layoffs.

Amazon has been in something of a layoff frenzy of late, even with over 200 million paying Prime subscribers. Most recently, it absolutely gutted Twitch with layoffs amounting to 35 percent of the service’s workforce. The company laid off nearly 200 people from its gaming division back in November, along with a few hundred people from its Alexa division. In January of last year, Amazon laid off an astounding 18,000 people from its retail and recruiting divisions. The company posted record profits in 2023.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-is-laying-off-several-hundred-employees-at-prime-video-and-mgm-studios-161307199.html?src=rss