Amazon cuts 16,000 jobs in its latest round of layoffs

Amazon is slashing about 16000 jobs in the second round of mass layoffs for the ecommerce company in three monthsThe tech giant has said it plans to use generative artificial intelligence to replace corporate workers It has also been reducing a workforce that swelled during the pandemicBeth Galetti a senior vice president at Amazon said in a blog post Wednesday that the company has been reducing layers increasing ownership and removing bureaucracyThe latest reductions follow a round of job cuts in October when Amazon said it was laying off 14000 workers While some Amazon units completed those organisational changes in October others did not finish until now Galetti saidShe said USbased staff would be given 90 days to look for a new role internally Those who are unsuccessful or dont want a new job will be offered severance pay outplacement services and health insurance benefits she saidWhile were making these changes well also continue hiring and investing in strategic areas and functions that are critical to our future Galetti saidCEO Andy Jassy who has aggressively cut costs since succeeding founder Jeff Bezos in 2021 said in June that he anticipated generative AI would reduce Amazons corporate workforce in the next few yearsThe layoffs are Amazons biggest since 2023 when the company cut 27000 jobsMeanwhile Amazon and other Big Tech and retail companies have cut thousands of jobs to bring spending back in line following the COVID19 pandemicAmazons workforce doubled as millions stayed home and boosted online spendingHiring has stagnated in the US and in December the country added a meagre 50000 jobs nearly unchanged from a downwardly revised figure of 56000 in NovemberLabour data points to a reluctance by businesses to add workers even as economic growth has picked up Many companies hired aggressively after the pandemic and no longer need to fill more jobs Others have held back due to widespread uncertainty caused by President Donald Trumps shifting tariff policies elevated inflation and the spread of artificial intelligence which could alter or even replace some jobsWhile economists have described the labour situation in the US as a nohirenofire environment some companies have said they are cutting back on jobs even this weekOn Tuesday UPS said it planned to cut up to 30000 operational jobs through attrition and buyouts this year as the package delivery company reduces the number of shipments from its largest customer AmazonThat followed 34000 job cuts in October at UPS and the closing of daily operations at 93 leased and owned buildings during the first nine months of last yearAlso on Tuesday Pinterest said it plans to lay off under 15 per cent of its workforce as part of a broader restructuring that arrives as the imagesharing platform pivots more of its money to artificial intelligenceShares of Amazon Inc based in Seattle rose slightly before the opening bell on WednesdayThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever