Amazon lays off about 100 employees in its video game divisions: Report

Amazon is offering the laid off employees severance pay, health insurance benefits, outplacement services, and paid time to conduct their job search.

Amazon laid off about 100 employees in its video gaming divisions as part of its broader cutbacks, an internal memo sent by Games Vice President Christoph Hartmann revealed on Tuesday.

“After evaluating our current projects against our long-term goals, the Games leadership team made the difficult decision to eliminate just over 100 roles across Prime Gaming, Game Growth and in our San Diego studio, while also reassigning some employees to other projects that match our strategic focus," Hartman wrote in the memo published by CNN.  He added that the division would continue expanding its publishing efforts, be active in exploring and signing new projects.

Speaking about the support available to the laid off employees, Hartman said Amazon would offer them severance pay, health insurance benefits, outplacement services, and paid time to conduct their job search.

"There is never a pleasant way to share this sort of news, but we are committed to treating our impacted employees with empathy and respect... I recognize that the impact of these decisions is not just to the business, but to our teammates and friends. It never feels good to say goodbye to colleagues, and I thank you for supporting them as they work through this change," Hartman wrote.

In the memo, the Games Vice President also mentioned how Amazon Games has gained momentum over the past couple of years, thanks to the staff's hard work, dedication and commitment to players. The division has currently launched two games and have at least seven more projects in the pipeline.

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