The layoff spree has crossed into the new year as Amazon and a few other companies open the year by dismissing their workers.
Amazon has only just laid off some guys from its games division towards the end of the previous year and now, it is announcing that it will dismiss 700 workers in its streaming and studio operations.
It’s alarming that this is even happening early in the year as Amazon did a massive layoff twice in 2023 which affected different divisions of the tech company.
On Wednesday, 11th January, 2024 Mike Hopkins, the worker responsible for managing those departments, sent a message to employees notifying them about the layoffs.
In the statement Hopkins issued to the affected employees, he wrote, “Throughout the past year, we’ve looked at nearly every aspect of our business to improve our ability to deliver even more breakthrough movies, TV shows, and live sports in a personalized, easy to use entertainment experience for our global customers.”
He also said, “As a result, we’ve 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. As a result of these decisions, we will be eliminating several hundred roles across the Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios organization.”
Just when we thought that was all from Amazon, it also announced on the same day that the layoff would also have to hit the Twitch live streaming unit workers and almost 500 workers have to leave.
We can’t decide if this will be the only layoff from Amazon this year as it is coming quite early but judging from how the company has handled its layoffs in times past, nothing is impossible.
“This is a difficult decision to make and one that my leadership team and I do not take lightly. It is hard to say goodbye to talented Amazonians who’ve made meaningful contributions on behalf of our customers, team, and business. Thank you for your dedication and work,” Hopkins appreciated the employees who had just been fired.
