Economic downturn, change in consumers’ behaviour to cost more Amazon workers their jobs

The Chief Executive Officer of Amazon, Andy Jassy, said the economic downturn is affecting the company, making it impossible to sustain its current workforce.

Amazon had significantly increased its workforce in the past years following the outbreak of coronavirus and the eventual lockdown, which saw people’s demand for e-commerce rise.

However, since the lockdown has been lifted and COVID-19 brought under control, people have resumed to their previous lifestyle, and with the economic downturn that followed the outbreak, demand for tech services has dropped to pre-COVID era.

In response to the change in lifestyle and challenging economy, Amazon is reviewing its operation. The firm is reportedly planning to cut about 10,000 jobs from its workforce of 1.5 million, which comprises mostly of employees at its warehouses and other logistics.

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Similarly, Facebook had also cut 11,000 jobs due to the same reason given by Amazon, with the founder, Mark Zuckerberg stating some workers at the firm no longer belong there. Also, Twitter had sacked some workers, as Elon Musk said the firm is losing $4 million daily due to the number of workers it has.

In a letter to workers on Thursday, Jassy said, “we’ve hired rapidly the last several years.” He also told staff that “Our annual planning process extends into the new year, which means there will be more role reductions as leaders continue to make adjustments,”

According to him, impacted employees and organizations will know their fate early in 2023. Although he disclosed that Amazon is yet to ascertain “how many other roles will be impacted.”

Appealing to the minds of the employees, Jassy wrote, “It’s not lost on me or any of the leaders who make these decisions that these aren’t just roles we’re eliminating, but rather, people with emotions, ambitions, and responsibilities whose lives will be impacted.”

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