Since Last October, Amazon's cut over 2700 In WA

In a second major round of layoffs since last October, Amazon has announced another 16K workers will be let go globally.

Amazon has now cut over 2,700 in WA State.

According to Geekwire and other sources, Amazon says its massive growth over the last ten years also created new layers of corporate bureaucracy that needs to be trimmed. The bullk of the 30K cut since last October are corporate workers. It's (combined) is the 2nd largest single workforce reduction in company history.

Officials said they do not plan routine layoffs such as these on a regular basis, these are part of an effort to get the company to perform like a brand new "startup."

Get our free mobile app

The affected workers will be given 90 days to apply for other positions within the company, Amazon says it is still hiring for some "key" jobs. Otherwise they will be given severance packages. These cuts, say observers, are part of an overall relalignment of the retail giant, who announced they're closing their 72 Amazon Fresh and Go Stores.

They've also said they are abandoning their Amazon One palm-reading checkout system as well. It debuted in 2020 in two Seattle-area stores before being rolled out to more than 500 of its Whole Foods Stores. The tech allowed consumers to just verify ID and pay with a wave of the palm of their hand.

Amazon officials have also said they expect their workforce to shrink over the next decade due to increased use of AI. Late last year, Officials said their long-term goal was to automate 70-80 percent of fulfillment warehouses with AI powered 'robots.

Their global workforce numbers around 1.57 million, of which (as of 2023) 350K were considered corporate, but that's before these cuts.

Geekwire reports a worker advocacy group, Amazon Workers for Climate Justice, claim the layoffs have damaged morale. They quoted employees who no longer believe there is a long-term future with the company.