Amazon job cuts rise to 17,000 employees

The job cuts in Amazon They may affect some 17,000 employees, a higher figure than previously estimated, according to the specialized Wall Street Journal.

The reduction plan is the largest among the recent announcements of job cuts that affect the technology sector in the United States.

It’s also the most severe cut in the history of the Seattle-based company.

The economic newspaper, which cites sources close to the distribution giant, recalls that Amazon had already announced plans to remove some 10,000 jobs in November.

At the end of September, the group had 1.54 million employees worldwide, not including seasonal workers who work during peak periods, especially around the year-end holidays.

Amazon did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment on Wednesday.

During the pandemic, the company made massive hires to meet demand, thus doubling its staff globally between 2020 and 2022.

However, its net profit plunged 9% year-on-year in the third quarter.

Large platforms in the technology sector – many with business models based on advertising – are facing budget cuts and advertisers, who reduce their expenses in the face of inflation and rising interest rates.

Metathe parent company of Facebookannounced in November the cut of 11,000 jobs, approximately 13% of its workforce.

Twitterpurchased in October by Elon Musklaid off about half of its 7,500 employees.

While Snapchat it cut about 20% of its employees in August, about 1,200 people.