Amazon planning to cut 16,000 office jobs worldwide
The cuts will impact nearly 10 percent of the 350,000 office jobs at Amazon.
Image: Ina Fassbender / AFP
Amazon said on Wednesday that it would be cutting 16,000 jobs worldwide as part of a restructuring announced in October, when the e-commerce giant had already flagged plans to cut its workforce by 14,000 posts.
The job cuts are aimed at "reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy," senior vice president Beth Galetti said in a statement.
Media reports from October had said the roughly 30,000 job cuts planned in total would impact nearly 10 percent of the 350,000 office jobs at Amazon, without affecting the distribution and warehouse workers that make up the bulk of its 1.5 million employees.
At the time the company refused to comment on the reports, which said they came amid increased investments in artificial intelligence.
Amazon did not give any breakdown of the latest job cuts on Wednesday, saying only that "every team will continue to evaluate the ownership, speed, and capacity to invent for customers, and make adjustments as appropriate."
The company will release its full-year 2025 results on February 6, when it will hold a conference call that will be broadcast live.
Closing real-world stores
In a separate development, Amazon on Tuesday said it would close its Go and Fresh real-world stores in the US, to focus on its Whole Foods markets and online grocery delivery.
Go and Fresh shops doubled as innovation centres for Amazon, which tested systems such as eliminating checkout stations and automatically billing customers for the items they had with them as they leave the store.
"Go and Fresh showed what was technologically possible, but not what was viable economically," said Emarketer senior analyst Zak Stambor.
"The bet is that mass-market groceries sell more efficiently through same-day delivery, with Whole Foods as its primary physical retail brand.
Grocery sales at Amazon's same-day delivery service grew 40-fold in the past year and an option for ultra-fast delivery of fresh food and other items in 30 minutes or less is being tested, according to the company.
Amazon will "continue inventing on behalf of customers to develop a mass physical store format that brings customers distinctive selection, value, and convenience," the e-commerce giant founded by Jeff Bezos said in a blog post.
Ideas being explored include a new retail supercenter where people can shop for groceries, household essentials and general merchandise, according to Amazon.
Amazon aims to open more than 100 new Whole Foods stores in coming years, with some Go and Fresh shops being converted into Whole Foods outlets.
AFP