Amazon axe turns to India as part of global workforce reductions

Amazon India

Amazon, the global e-commerce giant, is currently implementing employee layoffs in India across different businesses and functions. Multiple sources have confirmed that these layoffs are affecting various departments, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), human resources, and support functions.

At least 500 employees in India are being let go by Amazon, the Seattle-based technology giant. The layoffs are currently underway.

The ongoing layoffs in India are part of the broader layoffs announced by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy in late March. These layoffs have a global impact, affecting approximately 9,000 employees across various regions.

According to one of the sources, Amazon has shut down Amazon Digital Kendra, a seller support function, in its e-commerce business. Consequently, employees who were part of that division have either been laid off or reassigned to other areas within the company.

As part of the restructuring, certain seller onboarding functions in tier-2 cities like Kochi and Lucknow have also been shut down, as per the source. However, there is a possibility that Amazon Digital Kendra might undergo revamping and be relaunched in the near future.

Amazon has not released an official statement confirming these layoffs yet.

This recent round of layoffs at Amazon in India marks the second wave of workforce reductions in recent months. The company initially announced in January, following the decline of tech stocks worldwide, including Amazon's, that approximately 18,000 employees would be laid off.

During an analyst briefing in April, Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky disclosed that the growth of Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company's cloud business, was expected to further decelerate. This was attributed to business customers anticipating market turbulence and adopting a more cautious approach to spending.

Concurrently, Amazon's e-commerce business in India has experienced a slowdown in growth, highlighting the challenging market conditions the company is facing in the country.