Nearly 100,000 Amazon workers were let go during the June quarter, according to information revealed in the company’s quarterly report. The e-commerce behemoth has reduced its workforce by over 6%, which is the biggest significant reduction in a single quarter’s history. It’s not only Amazon, but Microsoft, Netflix, and even Shopify have laid off substantial numbers of employees in recent years. The pace of change at Google has slowed, not slowed.
Including contractors and temporary workers, Amazon had 1,523,000 full-time and part-time employees at the end of the June quarter, according to its results report. At the end of March, there were 1,622,000 people working at the company. Brian Olsavsky, Amazon’s CFO, blamed the mass layoffs on excessive personnel.
We went from understaffed to overstaffed when the variation subsided in the second part of the quarter and our workers returned from leave, which resulted in decreased productivity,” he added. However, Amazon remains the biggest employer in the technology sector, despite a decline in staff numbers.
Other companies are also cutting expenses, including Amazon. Google has also decreased its recruiting pace. CEO Sundar Pichai had sent out an email to all staff informing them of a halt on new hires.
We’re going to slow down recruiting for the remainder of the year to support our most significant opportunities because of the hiring success we’ve made so far this year. From 2022-2023 on, we’ll concentrate on recruiting engineers, technical specialists, and other key personnel while also ensuring that the top-tier candidates we do bring on board are in sync with our long-term goals. We must be more entrepreneurial, operating with more urgency and keen concentration than we have exhibited on sunny days,” he added.
Apple, too, is preparing for a possible economic downturn by limiting personnel and focusing on future splits.
