Amazon Announces 9,000 Job Cuts in Second-Largest Layoff in Company History

Amazon announced on Monday that it will be cutting 9,000 jobs in the coming weeks, the second largest round of layoffs in the company’s history. The job cuts come after the company announced earlier this year that it was eliminating some 18,000 positions as part of a major cost-cutting bid.

In a memo to staff, CEO Andy Jassy said the second phase of the company’s annual planning process – which determined what areas of the business to trim – completed this month and led to the additional job cuts. The job cuts will mostly impact people working in the following divisions: Amazon Web Services, People Experience and Technology Solutions (PXT), advertising and Twitch.

“This was a difficult decision, but one that we think is best for the company long term,” Jassy wrote in the memo. He added that the job cuts were not announced with the ones in January as the company wanted to give employees time to adjust to the news.

The job cuts are part of Amazon’s efforts to streamline its operations and reduce costs. The company has been investing heavily in new technologies and services, such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence and robotics, in order to stay competitive in the e-commerce space.

Amazon has not yet revealed how many jobs will be cut in each division, but the company said it will provide more details in the coming weeks. The job cuts are expected to be completed by the end of the year.