- More than 100 white-collar workers laid off in Amazon Robotics unit as part of cost cuts
- Amazon Robotics VP called the layoffs difficult but affirmed robotics remains a strategic focus
- The company continues hiring and investing in strategic areas despite recent job reductions
More than 100 white-collar workers in Amazon's robotics unit have been laid off, according to a report by Reuters.
It marks another step in the company's cost-cutting drive after January's decision to cut approximately 16,000 roles.
These reductions targeted the team that engineers robots and internal transport mechanisms intended to enhance automation, most of which are designed for use in warehouses, said the report.
According to Business Insider, in a message for employees, Amazon Robotics VP Scott Dresser called the move "difficult but necessary” and added that robotics continues to be a "strategic priority".
A spokesperson for the company told BI that it eliminated a "relatively small number of robotics roles" this week. The spokesperson added that Amazon is still hiring and investing in “strategic areas”.
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"We regularly review our organisations to make sure teams are best set up to innovate and deliver for our customers. We don't make these decisions lightly, and we're committed to supporting employees whose roles are affected with severance pay, health insurance benefits, and job placement support."
Since October, when around 14,000 office-based staff were first shown the door, Amazon has reduced its corporate headcount by roughly 30,000. The company has linked the sweeping cuts to productivity improvements driven by artificial intelligence and a broader reset of workplace culture.
The redundancies account for close to a tenth of its salaried workforce. However, the vast majority of the company's 1.5 million employees are paid hourly, most of them stationed at its warehouse network, commonly referred to as fulfilment centres, reported Reuters.
Amazon's sprawling fulfilment operation is powered by fleets of robots that move products across its warehouses. However, the company has recently scaled back its Blue Jay warehouse automation initiative, introduced only months ago, and is pivoting to a different robotics platform, according to a report by BI.
Following Amazon's January decision to cut 16,000 jobs, its head of human resources, Beth Galetti, said the company was not seeking to settle into a pattern of large-scale redundancies every few months. However, she stopped short of dismissing the prospect of additional job losses.
Amazon has been steadily reducing staff numbers after a hiring blitz during the pandemic swelled its ranks to cope with booming online shopping and cloud computing demand, as per the report.
CEO Andy Jassy has since moved to dismantle layers of middle management and recast the firm's culture, arguing it should operate more like the “world's largest start-up”. He has outlined plans to simplify reporting lines and even created a dedicated “no bureaucracy” email address to solicit suggestions from employees on how to streamline operations.
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