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Amazon job cuts mean staff will leave just days before Christmas

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Amazon recent cuts cause some staffers to lose their jobs just before Christmas

Several Amazon workers will leave their jobs just two days before Christmas.

The company is looking to reduce its corporate staff by three percent, which means some staff will work their last days shortly before Christmas.

Amazon began laying off employees this month, the first in a series of cuts that are projected to hit 10,000 people.

READ MORE: AMAZON TO WIND UP SOME OF ITS INDIAN OPERATIONS – WHICH MEANS JOB CUTS

HR employees were given voluntary buyouts by the corporation at the same time that layoffs in other departments began.

Amazon joins other tech firms to save expenses in face of economic uncertainty and a yearslong hiring spree. 

CEO Andy Jassy said it’s checking each unit to make decisions “about what we believe we should change.” 

Jassy informed staff that the redundancies will continue till 2023.

READ MORE: AMAZON WORKERS IN NEARLY 30 COUNTRIES WILL STRIKE ON BLACK FRIDAY

The corporation is eliminating employees in several departments, such as devices, books, human resources, and stores.

Amazon's voice assistant Alexa, its health device Halo, its home robot Astro, plus Kindle, smart home products, and the Echo speaker are all part of the devices group.

Stores encompass the majority of Amazon's consumer business, including online and physical stores, third-party seller marketplaces, and Prime.

It's unclear how many employees will be cut from each unit or how the cutbacks would impact the firm's Puget Sound headquarters.

READ MORE: AMAZON LOOKS AT NEW WAY TO CUT WORKFORCE THROUGH VOLUNTARY BUYOUTS

On November 23, the day before Thanksgiving, several employees in the devices division lost access to Amazon offices, computers, and certain messaging channels.

Some staff in its human resources section will be let go on December 23.

The company said: “Coming out of the pandemic, there are several macroeconomic pressures happening in the world, and we are faced with some very hard decisions as we plan for 2023.” 

READ MORE: AMAZON PLANNING FOR MASSIVE LAYOFFS HITTING 10,000 STAFF

Some employees in the US and India were offered a voluntary resignation package.

Employees have until Tuesday to apply for the package.

They now have till Monday to withdraw their applications if they change their minds.

If approved, the deadline is December 23, unless a later date is necessary for business purposes."

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One Amazon employee said the measures to cut the staff in the human resources department come at a time of year when staff are already overworked.

That employee said the team is already working on mandatory overtime, spending 10.5 hours a week.

The news that Amazon was considering to slash from the department surprised many employees in the company's top ranks.

Many employees heard about the cuts through the media rather than from the firm.

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Severance pay, additional funds for health insurance, and the forgiveness of any outstanding obligations, like the requirement to repay a relocation bonus if an employee departs, are all part of the voluntary resignation package.

The severance pay equals three months' basic salary plus one week's base pay for every six months worked at the firm.

Employees are eligible for up to 20 weeks of paid severance.

Those who accept the severance package will be covered until the end of the year.

Source: The Seattle Times

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