Update from CEO Andy Jassy on function eliminations

The message beneath was shared with Amazon workers at this time.

As I shared again in November, as a part of our annual planning course of for 2023, leaders throughout the corporate have been working with their groups and their workforce ranges, investments they need to make sooner or later, and prioritizing what issues most to clients and the long-term well being of our companies. This 12 months’s assessment has been tougher given the unsure economic system and that we’ve employed quickly during the last a number of years. In November, we communicated the laborious determination to get rid of a lot of positions throughout our Units and Books companies, and in addition introduced a voluntary discount provide for some workers in our Individuals, Expertise, and Know-how (PXT) group. I additionally shared that we weren’t finished with our annual planning course of and that I anticipated there could be extra function reductions in early 2023.

As we speak, I wished to share the result of those additional opinions, which is the troublesome determination to get rid of extra roles. Between the reductions we made in November and those we’re sharing at this time, we plan to get rid of simply over 18,000 roles. A number of groups are impacted; nonetheless, nearly all of function eliminations are in our Amazon Shops and PXT organizations.

S-team and I are deeply conscious that these function eliminations are troublesome for individuals, and we don’t take these choices evenly or underestimate how a lot they may have an effect on the lives of those that are impacted. We’re working to help those that are affected and are offering packages that embrace a separation cost, transitional medical health insurance advantages, and exterior job placement help.

We sometimes wait to speak about these outcomes till we are able to converse with the people who find themselves straight impacted. Nonetheless, as a result of one in every of our teammates leaked this data externally, we determined it was higher to share this information earlier so you may hear the main points straight from me. We intend on speaking with impacted workers (or the place relevant in Europe, with worker consultant our bodies) beginning on January 18.

Amazon has weathered unsure and troublesome economies up to now, and we are going to proceed to take action. These adjustments will assist us pursue our long-term alternatives with a stronger value construction; nonetheless, I’m additionally optimistic that we’ll be ingenious, resourceful, and scrappy on this time once we’re not hiring expansively and eliminating some roles. Corporations that final a very long time undergo completely different phases. They’re not in heavy individuals enlargement mode yearly. We frequently speak about our management precept Invent and Simplify within the context of making new merchandise and options. There’ll proceed to be loads of this throughout all the companies we’re pursuing. However, we typically overlook the significance of the essential invention, problem-solving, and simplification that go into determining what issues most to clients (and the enterprise), adjusting the place we spend our sources and time, and discovering a technique to do extra for patrons at a decrease value (passing on financial savings to clients within the course of). Each of a lot of these Invent and Simplify actually matter.

To these impacted by these reductions, I would like you to know the way grateful I’m on your contributions to Amazon, and the work you will have finished on behalf of consumers. You have got made a significant distinction in quite a lot of clients’ lives. To those that will proceed on the journey with us, I sit up for partnering with you to maintain making life higher and simpler for patrons on daily basis and relentlessly inventing to take action.

Andy