Following Google, Amazon declares layoffs; numerous employees to receive termination notices.

Amazon has revealed plans for significant job cuts, particularly impacting employees in Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios. The announcement aligns with Google's recent decision to lay off workers. The internal memo from Amazon, disclosed on Wednesday, outlined the impending layoffs in its streaming and studio operations, affecting several hundred employees.

The affected individuals, primarily from Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, were scheduled to be notified on Wednesday, while those in other regions would receive notifications by the week's end. Mike Hopkins, Senior Vice President of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, communicated to employees that the company had identified opportunities to scale back or discontinue investments in certain areas. Simultaneously, there was an intention to increase focus and investment in content and product initiatives deemed to have the most significant impact.

This move comes on the heels of Amazon's extensive job cuts last year, where a staggering 27,000 positions were eliminated across various departments. It's worth noting that Amazon employees were not the sole victims of the tech industry layoff trend in 2023, with other major players like Meta (Mark Zuckerberg's company) and Google also initiating substantial workforce reductions.

Industry analysts linked the surge in layoffs during this period to the tech sector's earlier efforts to aggressively hire during the Covid-19 pandemic. In a parallel scenario, Amazon's announcement coincided with Google's decision to lay off hundreds of employees, specifically those working on the voice-activated Google Assistant software and the Devices and Services team.

The precise number of employees affected by these layoffs has not been immediately disclosed by either company. Notably, Google made headlines in 2023 for its significant layoff, letting go of nearly 12,000 employees the most extensive single-year job cut in the company's history.

The current wave of job cuts underscores the complex dynamics and challenges within the tech industry, reflecting strategic shifts and adjustments in response to market conditions and evolving business priorities.