Amazon.com Inc. on Monday said it would axe another 9,000 roles totaling 27,000 job cuts in recent months, trimming from its long-profitable cloud unit that's facing new headwinds and making it the latest tech company to announce a second layoff round in the face of a possible recession.
In a note to staff posted online, CEO Andy Jassy said the decision stemmed from an ongoing analysis of priorities and uncertainty about the economy.
Whereas prior cuts had focused on the company's e-commerce and devices business as well as human-resources staff, now the company would eliminate roles from Amazon Web Services, its advertising and Twitch streaming units.
Numerous tech giants including Microsoft Corp, Salesforce Inc., Alphabet and Meta Platforms have slashed thousands of jobs in recent months after pandemic-led hiring sprees left them overstaffed. Amazon follows Facebook-parent Meta in becoming the second bellwether to announce a second round of cuts.
Jassy said the company had added a substantial amount of staff in the past few years, but the uncertain economy has forced it to choose cost and headcount cuts.
"Given the uncertain economy in which we reside, and the uncertainty that exists in the near future, we have chosen to be more streamlined in our costs and headcount," Jassy said in a statement posted on the company's website.
Amazon last month said operating profit may continue to slump in the current quarter, hit by the financial impact of consumers and cloud customers clamping down on spending. Sales from its lucrative cloud-computing division slowed during the fourth quarter.
Amazon has scaled back or shut down entire services like its virtual primary care offering for employers.
"When considering the recent headlines that could accelerate the U.S.’s entry into a recession, at the minimum, and increase its severity, at the maximum, we are not surprised by Amazon’s plans," D.A. Davidson analyst Tom Forte said in a note.
Shares of Amazon were down 1.6% in morning trading on the Nasdaq.
Facebook-parent Meta Platforms said it would cut 10,000 jobs this year, following the first mass layoff in the fall, which eliminated more than 11,000 jobs.
