Amazon is laying off hundreds of corporate employees
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is laying off hundreds of corporate employees at its headquarters and elsewhere, according to a news report.
The Seattle Times, citing a person familiar with the cuts, said Monday that the e-commerce giant will cut several hundred jobs at its headquarters in Seattle as well as hundreds of more elsewhere in Amazon’s global operations.
The online retailer continues to hire aggressively in other parts of the country and is looking for a new city for its second headquarters, where the company plans to create 50,000 jobs and spend more than $5 billion.
The cuts, according to the Seattle Times, will be primarily focused on Amazon’s customer retail businesses and come after the company carried out hiring freezes in recent months across several of its departments.
In an email to FOX Business, a spokesman for Amazon acknowledged the cuts, saying they are part the company’s annual planning process.
“We are making headcount adjustments across the company – small reductions in a couple of places and aggressive hiring in many others,” Adam Sedo, the spokesman, said. “For affected employees, we work to find roles in the areas where we are hiring.”
As of Monday, the company said it had more than 3,900 job openings in Seattle, and since 2010, it has increased its headcount to more than 40,000 people from 5,000. Additionally, over the past year, Amazon has created 130,000 jobs, not including its Whole Foods locations. By the end of last year, Amazon employed more than 560,000 globally, up nearly 66% from last year.
Shares were up nearly 3% on Monday.
