Report: Amazon’s planned job cuts swell to 17,000

In November, a report alleged that Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) would lay off around 10,000 employees in a round of peak-season job cuts. Now, the figure is expected to be significantly higher.

In an article published Wednesday, people said to be familiar with the cuts told The Wall Street Journal that the number of employees affected by the layoffs will ultimately be closer to 17,000. Some of the sources also suggested that the layoffs are mainly corporate office positions.

If the report is accurate, the cuts would represent one of the largest rounds of layoffs in history. It would also be the largest head count reduction among tech companies that have recently trimmed their workforces.

The initial report in November suggested the cuts would also impact Amazon’s devices division, which houses products like Alexa, and its retail business, which is responsible for aspects of the company’s online shopping, physical retail and logistics operations. Hourly workers, like drivers and warehouse associates, were reported to not be impacted.

Watch: Amazon pulling back air cargo

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A large round of layoffs was not necessarily unexpected for the e-commerce giant, which in the months prior to the November report had implemented hiring freezes in several segments as well as at the corporate level.

It had also emphasized scaling back some of its logistics operations, including the closures, cancellations and delayed openings of more than 60 facilities. The firm’s free Whole Foods delivery offering and Scout home delivery robot were also scrapped in the lead-up to the cuts.

In contending with that bloat and the company’s overhiring of corporate employees, layoffs may ease pressure on Amazon as it heads into its first quarterly earnings call of the year next month.

This is a developing story. Check back here for more updates.

Click for more Modern Shipper articles by Jack Daleo.

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