Amazon plans to lay off thousands of employees, The New York Times reports

Amazon plans to lay off about 10,000 employees in corporate and technology jobs, the New York Times reported Monday, citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter.

The job cuts could start as early as this week and will likely include employees working on Amazon devices (like the voice assistant Alexa), as well as employees in the retail and human resources departments, according to the report. “The total number of layoffs remains fluid,” the report said.

Amazon didn’t immediately respond to CNN Business’s request for comment on Monday. CNN could not independently confirm the report. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing a person familiar with the matter, that Amazon would lay off thousands of workers.

The news would make Amazon the latest in a string of tech companies to announce significant layoffs in recent weeks amid broader economic uncertainty and a sharp slowdown in demand seen by many tech giants during the pandemic, prompting them to quickly hire staff . Last week, Facebook parent Meta announced that it would lay off 11,000 employees.

Earlier this month, Amazon said it would freeze company hiring “for the next few months,” citing economic uncertainty and “how many people we’ve hired” over the past few years. Amazon quickly increased its headcount as the pandemic shifted consumer habits and spending toward e-commerce. However, in its most recent earnings report, Amazon forecast that its earnings for the holiday quarter would be lower than analysts were expecting.

Amazon’s shares are down more than 40% so far in 2022 amid a broader market decline.

The news of possible layoffs comes at a crucial time for the retail industry, ahead of the holiday shopping season. Despite recession fears and inflationary pressures, the National Retail Federation is forecasting a 6% to 8% year-on-year increase in sales during the holiday shopping months.

Last month, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos tweeted about the possibility of a looming recession, writing, “The odds in this economy are telling you to shut the hatches.” In an interview with CNN’s Chloe Melas on Saturday, Bezos said advice for Business owners and consumers alike are meant. “Take some risk off the table,” he said. “Just a little bit of risk mitigation could make all the difference.”

The CNN Wire

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