In a report by the Washington State Employment Security Department, it has been revealed that at least 2,300 Amazon employees in the Seattle region will be losing their jobs as part of the company’s ongoing layoffs. The notice filed on Wednesday afternoon states that 1,852 jobs in Seattle and another 448 in Bellevue, Washington will be cut.
Amazon has previously announced that it is eliminating approximately 18,000 corporate and tech jobs globally as part of the layoffs that began last fall. The notice cites March 19th as the beginning date for the separations in the region. When asked if the notice represents the extent of the impact in the Seattle region, an Amazon spokesperson stated that the company did not have any further information to share beyond what was included in the filing.
This is the largest round of layoffs in the history of the Seattle-based company. Beth Galetti, the company’s Chief Human Resources Officer, stated in a memo to employees that several teams have been impacted, but the majority of the role eliminations are in the Worldwide Amazon Stores business and People Experience & Technology (HR) organization.
“To help with the transition, we are providing packages that include a separation payment, transitional benefits as applicable by country, and external job placement support”, Galetti wrote. Earlier cuts, also part of the 18,000 total, focused on areas including Amazon’s devices group.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced “Amazon has weathered uncertain and difficult economies in the past, and we will continue to do so. These changes will help us pursue our long-term opportunities with a stronger cost structure,” he said. “However, I’m also optimistic that we’ll be inventive, resourceful, and scrappy in this time when we’re not hiring expansively and eliminating some roles. Companies that last a long time go through different phases. They’re not in heavy people expansion mode every year.“
This news comes on the same day that Microsoft announced deep cuts to its workforce. CEO Satya Nadella told employees that the Redmond, Washington-based software giant will cut 10,000 jobs between now and the end of March. A similar Employment Security Department notice filed for Microsoft on Wednesday puts the number of regional job cuts at 878 at the company’s offices in Redmond, Bellevue, and Issaquah, Washington.
