Online retail giant Amazon plans to cut an additional 9,000 jobs amid spiralling costs.
Workers employed in areas such as cloud computing and advertising are expected to bear the brunt of the cuts. The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Andy Jassy, said that while it had been a ‘difficult decision’, the general trend at Amazon had been towards expansion.
‘However,’ he continued, ‘…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.’
This latest announcement comes after the company axed 18,000 positions in January of this year, including jobs in the human resources and consumer retail arms.
Mr Jassy blamed an ‘uncertain economy’ on the January decision. In a memo to staff he explained that execs do not ‘take these decisions lightly or underestimate how much they might affect the lives of those who are impacted.’
Amazon are not alone amongst tech giants in seeking to reduce costs. Meta – who own Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram – recently announced that 10,000 jobs would go as the company tries to balance the books in difficult economic conditions. Meta had already culled 11,000 jobs in November last year, with company chief Mark Zuckerberg describing the decision as the ‘most difficult changes we’ve made in Meta’s history.’
Mr Zuckerberg said that forecasts for growth were based on blossoming revenue during the COVID pandemic. He wrote that ‘many people predicted this would be a permanent acceleration. I did too, so I made the decision to significantly increase our investments.’
The Workers Union Says…
It is a sign of the times that tech behemoths are looking to cut jobs to save money. But underneath the official lines about ‘efficiency,’ lurks the stark reality of job losses and financial pain for workers.
Some will say execs should see the storm coming before a drop of rain falls. But even the wiliest business leaders have limited powers of prediction. They cannot always see the shape of the future before it’s upon them.
None of this will be of any comfort to the workers ejected from jobs at a time when the cost of living is bearing down on household budgets. It is to these people that we must offer our sympathy and support. The tech giants will roll on regardless, but working people cannot always pick up their lives and start again so easily.
