In a recent slew of mass layoffs, Amazon announced hundreds of layoff from its Prime Video and MGM Studios divisions. Mike Hopkins, who oversees those divisions, informed the employees of the layoffs in a memo. These layoffs follow a slew of job cuts at Amazon that began in 2022 and extended into 2023 with more than 27,000 employees being let go.
Hopkins explained in the memo that the cuts were in order to “prioritize our investments for the long term success of the business”. The memo was distributed internally on Wednesday and informed the employees that the company had conducted several reviews. They had identified potential avenues where it could discontinue and reduce investments to better focus on improving the platform. Hence, the job cuts are a part of restructuring and optimising the business.
“Throughout the past year, we’ve looked at nearly every aspect of our business with an eye towards improving our ability to deliver even more breakthrough movies, TV shows, and live sports in a personalized, easy to use entertainment experience for our global customers,” Hopkins further explained in the memo. “As a result, we’ve identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact. As a result of these decisions, we will be eliminating several hundred roles across the Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios organization.” It went on to say.
Amazon continues to trim its headcount after a year of mass layoffs. Beginning at the end of 2022 and continuing through 2023, Amazon initiated the largest layoffs in its history, cutting more than 27,000 jobs across almost every area of the company. These layoffs come on the same day as Amazon’s Twitch livestreaming unit announced over 500 job cuts.