ARLINGTON, Va. — Amazon has confirmed layoffs are underway after reports that thousands of positions were on the chopping block. The initial round of layoffs comes about a month after the tech giant announced a corporate hiring freeze.
Senior Vice President of Devices and Services Dave Limp acknowledged the layoffs in his department in a blog post, two days following The New York Times reported plans of 10,000 cuts.
“As you know, we continue to face an unusual and uncertain macroeconomic environment,” Limp said in his announcement. “In light of this, we’ve been working over the last few months to further prioritize what matters most to our customers and the business. After a deep set of reviews, we recently decided to consolidate some teams and programs. One of the consequences of these decisions is that some roles will no longer be required.”
The company notified employees on Tuesday. His post failed to mention exactly how many positions were affected.
Limp assured Amazon will work closely with each employee to provide support which includes helping them find new roles. If the individual is unable to find a new role within the company, Amazon will offer a package that includes a separate payment, transitional benefits and external job placement support.
“While I know this news is tough to digest, I do want to emphasize that the Devices & Services organization remains an important area of investment for Amazon, and we will continue to invent on behalf of our customers,” he said.
Other major companies have undergone massive cuts including Facebook-parent Meta which announced 11,000 job losses. Twitter also planned widespread job cuts after billionaire Elon Musk took the helm of the social media company.
“As part of our annual operating planning review process, we always look at each of our businesses and what we believe we should change,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement to WUSA9. “As we’ve gone through this, given the current macro-economic environment (as well as several years of rapid hiring), some teams are making adjustments, which in some cases means certain roles are no longer necessary. We don’t take these decisions lightly, and we are working to support any employees who may be affected.”
What is the impact on Amazon HQ2?
The layoffs put into question what kind of impact they might have on the highly anticipated HQ2 in Crystal City.
It appears it will not affect the progress for at least the first phase of HQ2 for now.
“We have hired more than 5,000 corporate and tech roles at HQ2 to date and there is no impact to HQ2’s phase 1 (Met Park) which is on track to open in 2023,” an Amazon spokesperson said.
In order to receive more than $550 million of cash incentives, Amazon pledged to create 25,000 jobs in Arlington.
Phase One includes the construction of Metropolitan Park, a 2.1-million-square-feet project that will house two 22-story office buildings, more than 50,000 square feet of retail space for local small businesses and a 2-acre public park.
Arlington County Board Chair Katie Cristol did not seem concerned, per her statement to WUSA9.
“As the County Board and County government, we appreciate Amazon’s commitment to major real estate investments and job growth in our community, per the performance agreement with the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Cristol said. “In light of constraints of the current global economy, we remain committed to job growth and stability in Arlington. Additionally, we look forward to continued growth and development of the entirety of National Landing, as a regional landmark, jobs and transportation hub.”
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