Amazon is famous for its quick package deliveries, yet the company, during this week, demonstrates a similar speed to when it reorganizes its workforce. As per the reports, the e-commerce giant plans to execute its second layoff round starting on 27th January, where the company will terminate 30,000 employees as part of its overall workforce reduction strategy.
The numbers match previous reports because the company has already achieved half of its employment target through the October elimination of 14,000 white-collar jobs. This week will bring employees a not so happy experience, and more of a dreadful experience.
These Units will take the Hit
Amazon plans to cut the jobs at its major business units, which includes Amazon Web Services, retail operations, Prime Video, and People Experience and Technology HR unit. Amazon’s actual plans for the project remains uncertain, yet these three fields that Amazon operates in, which is technology, content, and corporate activities, serve as the current operational base.
Amazon workers throughout the entire white-collar network of the company currently maintain access to all areas of their work environment. Also, the timing now is very crucial for the workers who were affected by October layoffs. As they received 90 days to find new jobs inside the company or outside, and it will reach its end on Monday, which will result in the largest ever layoffs at the company in its 30 years of history.
Reason Behind the Layoffs
Amazon has provided inconsistent reasons for its employee layoffs, which has created further curiosity about the situation. On one hand, the organization first identified artificial intelligence as the upcoming technological breakthrough that would reshape the world just like the internet did. In a letter, the company said,
“this generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet, and it’s enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before”.
On the other hand, CEO Andy Jassy later explained that the organization reduced its workforce because of corporate culture problems, which included excessive bureaucratic procedures. Jassy said,
“The reduction was not really financially driven and it’s not even really AI-driven, it’s culture. You end up with a lot more people than what you had before, and you end up with a lot more layers”.
The truth probably exists between both these extremes.
Amazon’s Workforce
The figure of 30,000 jobs stands as an impressive number, yet it covers only a portion of Amazon’s complete workforce, which consists of 1.58 million employees, who primarily operate in warehouses and fulfilment centers. The corporate staff experience considerable effects from this change, which impacts almost 10% of Amazon’s white-collar workforce.
The move demonstrates how Big Tech companies undergo organizational transformations by reducing their workforces and establishing more efficient decision processes to get ready for a future that depends on artificial intelligence. The current week at Amazon establishes another period of transformation for the company, where the employees who work there will face difficult situations.
Bottom Line
The upcoming layoffs at Amazon demonstrates that how the technology sector currently experiences changes because companies are adopting artificial intelligence technology, while struggling to manage their increased expansion. The current situation makes workers feel anxious about their job security, while Amazon uses this moment to begin its next stage of organizational transformation.
The actual evaluation will determine if the company can achieve faster operations through its smaller workforce, along with maintaining the technological advantages that established its status as a major tech corporation.