Amazon cuts hundreds of jobs in cloud computing unit

Amazon‘s
cloud
computing
division
is
laying
off
hundreds
of
employees
in
its
physical
stores
technology
and
sales
and
marketing
units,
the
company
confirmed
Wednesday.

“We’ve
identified
a
few
targeted
areas
of
the
organization
we
need
to
streamline
in
order
to
continue
focusing
our
efforts
on
the
key
strategic
areas
that
we
believe
will
deliver
maximum
impact,”
an
Amazon
Web
Services
spokesperson
said
in
a
statement. “We
didn’t
make
these
decisions
lightly,
and
we’re
committed
to
supporting
the
employees
throughout
their
transition
to
new
roles
in
and
outside
of
Amazon.”

The
cuts
were
first
reported
by

GeekWire.

Amazon’s
lucrative
AWS
unit

has
seen
its
sales
growth
decelerate
in
recent
quarters
as
companies
trimmed
their
cloud
spend
amid
rising
interest
rates.
Amazon
executives

expressed
some
optimism
in
February
when
they
said
the
market
is
starting
to
show
signs
of
a
reacceleration.

The
cuts
to
AWS’
store
technology
team
come
after
Amazon

said
it
would
remove
cashierless
checkout
systems
in
its
U.S.
Fresh
stores.
The
AWS
unit
includes
teams
overseeing
the
cashierless
tech,
called
Just
Walk
Out,
as
well
as
its
Dash
smart
carts
and
Amazon
One
palm-based
payment
technology.
The
store
technology
team
was
moved
out
of
Amazon’s
retail
group
and
folded
into
its
cloud
computing
division
in
2022.

The
AWS
spokesperson
said
the
company
decided
to
make
cuts
to
the
store
technology
division “as
a
result
of
a
broader
strategic
shift
in
the
use
of
some
applications
in
Amazon’s
owned
as
well
as
in
third-party
stores.”

Amazon
continues
to
trim
its
headcount
after
more
than
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.
So
far
this
year,
Amazon
has
laid
off
employees
in
its

Twitch,

Audible,

Buy
with
Prime,
and

Prime
Video
and
MGM
Studios
units.

Employees
in
the
U.S.
will
continue
to
receive
their
pay
and
benefits
for
at
least
60
days,
and
they
will
be
eligible
for
a
severance
package.