Amazon eliminating 18,000 jobs amid economic uncertainty

Following mass layoffs in November, Amazon announced that it’s trimming its headcount even further.

In a memo to employees on Jan. 4, CEO Andy Jassy said that the e-commerce giant is currently set to cut more than 18,000 jobs as it continues to navigate challenging economic conditions.

“In November, [Amazon] communicated the hard decision to eliminate a number of positions across our Devices and Books businesses, and also announced a voluntary reduction offer for some employees in our People, Experience, and Technology (PXT) organization,” Jassy said.

“I also shared that we weren’t done with our annual planning process and that I expected there would be more role reductions in early 2023.”

Several teams will be impacted by the latest reduction. Most of the cuts will affect the Amazon Stores and PXT organizations.

Jassy added that the company will contact workers who are being laid off on Jan. 18.

Impact in Canada

It remains unclear how many Canadian employees are affected by the sweeping layoffs at Amazon.

However, several B.C. engineers, including Burnaby-based software development engineer Hang Hu, posted on LinkedIn in November that they had been let go.

In 2021, the e-commerce giant confirmed in a news release that it employed more than 25,000 Canadians and announced plans to hire 15,000 more.

Major tech layoffs continue

Amazon isn’t the only North American tech giant that is kicking off 2023 by significantly reducing its staffing levels.

Salesforce recently announced that it’s cutting approximately 10 per cent of its workforce as it continues to monitor market conditions.

The reductions by both companies come after a flurry of tech sector layoffs in 2022.

A substantial number of jobs have been axed by big names, including Cisco, Meta, Twitter, Hootsuite, Microsoft, Shopify, and Snap.

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Termination agreements for Amazon Canada employees

As part of the layoff announcement, Amazon said affected workers will be provided with packages that contain severance pay, transitional health insurance benefits, and external job placement support.

In Canada, non-unionized employees and senior executives at Amazon are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing or corporate restructuring.

This includes individuals working full-time, part-time, or hourly in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C.

Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay, depending on a number of factors.

LEARN MORE
• Severance packages in mass layoffs
• Severance for technology industry employees
• Rights to severance for provincially regulated employees

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains why you are still owed severance if you have been downsized on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Before you accept any severance offer, have an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP review it and your employment contract.

We can tell you if what you have been provided is fair and how to get proper compensation if it falls short of what you are actually owed.

If you aren’t given the full amount, which happens often, you have been wrongfully dismissed and are entitled to compensation.