Amid mass layoff, Amazon now plans to reduce employee stock awards: Report

By Team Newsable | First Published Apr 6, 2023, 9:51 AM IST

Amazon has already conducted two waves of layoffs across the company but it is still not done with cost-cutting measures. The e-commerce giant has announced plans to reduce employee stock awards as part of its compensation plan.

The e-commerce behemoth would now decrease employee stock awards after a second round of mass cuts at Amazon Inc. as the business navigates an unsteady economy, the spokesperson said in a formal statement.

"We made the decision to reduce RSU (restricted stock units) awards in the final outlook year by a small amount (other years are not impacted)," an Amazon spokesperson said as quoted by Reuters.

Tap to resize

Latest Videos

Tap to resize

The news follows Amazon's announcement of a second round of mass cutbacks a few weeks prior, adding to a surge of job losses that have swept the technology industry as a challenging economy pushes businesses to become leaner.

Also Read | M A Yusuff Ali richest Malayali in Forbes' 2023 list; Mukesh Ambani richest in Asia

Meanwhile, Amazon has recently announced that it will be laying off more than 100 employees from its gaming division. Employees from Prime Gaming, Game Growth, and the company's San Diego studio will be affected by the recent news of layoffs, which are a part of the company's wider budget cuts.

In a memo to staff on Tuesday, Amazon Games VP Christoph Hartmann disclosed that these layoffs are a result of the business's continuing efforts to streamline and reorganise its operations. According to Hartmann's letter, Amazon intends to support its emphasis on content and will keep funding its in-house development initiatives.

"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," he wrote.

Also Read | Apple to open first retail store in Mumbai soon, Check out its FIRST glimpse

"Going forward, we will continue to invest in our internal development efforts, and our teams will continue to grow as our projects progress," Hartmann further added.

Additionally, Amazon has pledged to assist the affected employees by providing them with severance compensation, health insurance benefits, outplacement services, and paid time to perform their job hunt.

The company's recent layoffs at Amazon are a part of its continuing efforts to streamline and reorganise its business operations. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy revealed last month that the business would be letting go of an extra 9,000 workers in an effort to reduce costs. This comes after a prior round of cutbacks that resulted in the employment of more than 18,000 employees.

Also Read | Air India revamps inflight menu for international flights; Check them out

For more reliable and latest news