Key facts
- Amazon confirmed it cut a small number of jobs on Tuesday.
- The layoffs primarily affected its stores unit, which oversees the main e-commerce website.
- Fewer than 1,000 white-collar employees were affected in total.
- Cuts were reported across customer service, selling partner services, and engineering roles.
- Employees in the US, India, and the UK were among those affected.
- Amazon is preparing to spend $220 billion on AI infrastructure.
Amazon confirmed on Wednesday (Oct 7) that it had cut a small number of jobs, primarily in its stores unit, which oversees the company's main e-commerce website. The layoffs, which occurred on Tuesday, coincided with Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days sales event. Internal Slack messages reviewed by Business Insider and Reuters indicated that employees across several divisions, including customer service, selling partner services, and engineering roles in the retail business, received notifications. Employees in the US, India, and the UK were among those affected. A person familiar with the matter told Business Insider and Reuters that fewer than 1,000 white-collar workers were impacted in total. The cuts are part of Amazon's ongoing cost overhaul and follow larger rounds of layoffs totaling approximately 30,000 jobs that began last year and continued into January. Despite these workforce reductions, Amazon is preparing to invest a record $220 billion in data centers, chips, and other infrastructure for artificial intelligence.