Amazon is laying off hundreds of employees across its Prime Video and MGM Studios divisions.
Mike Hopkins, who oversees those units, sent a memo to employees Wednesday informing them of the job cuts, according to a copy of the memo seen by CNBC. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the layoffs.
Hopkins said the company made the cuts to “prioritize our investments for the long-term success of our business.”
“Over the past year, we’ve addressed nearly every aspect of our business with an eye toward improving our ability to deliver even more groundbreaking movies, TV shows and live sports in personalized, easy-to-use entertainment for our global customers. ” Hopkins wrote in the message. “As a result, we have identified opportunities to reduce or exit investment in certain areas while increasing our investment and focusing on content and product initiatives that have the greatest impact. As a result of these decisions, we will eliminate several hundred roles across the Prime Video and Amazon MGM organizations Studios.”
Amazon announces more cuts after a year of mass layoffs. Beginning in late 2022 and continuing through 2023, Amazon has begun the largest layoffs in its history, cutting more than 27,000 jobs in nearly every area of the company.
Team,
We’ve made significant strides towards our long-term vision to make Prime Video a world-class entertainment destination for customers around the world, and I’m proud of everything we’ve achieved as a team so far. Our investments in programming, marketing and technology have enabled us to expand our selection of blockbuster movies, hit TV series, sports broadcasts, the world’s largest TVOD catalog along with more than 650 partner channels worldwide and AVOD services including Freevee – all available in a single destination that delighting customers all over the world. And through our acquisition of MGM, we increased our investment in theatrical films and fueled the growth of MGM+ and our third-party licensing and production businesses.
However, our industry is also evolving rapidly and it is important that we prioritize our investments for the long-term success of our business while relentlessly focusing on what we know is most important to our customers. Over the past year, we’ve addressed nearly every aspect of our business with an eye towards improving our ability to deliver even more breakthrough movies, TV shows and live sports in personalized, easy-to-use entertainment for our global customers. As a result, we have identified opportunities to reduce or end investment in certain areas while increasing our investment and focusing on content and product initiatives that have the greatest impact. As a result of these decisions, we will eliminate several hundred roles within the Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios organizations.
Today we will start reaching out to colleagues affected by this reduction in roles. Announcements will be sent out soon, and we expect all announcements in the Americas to be completed by this morning (PT) and in most other regions by the end of the week. We follow local processes, which may include time for consultation with employee representative bodies, which may result in longer communication times in some countries.
This is a difficult decision that my leadership team and I do not take lightly. It’s hard to say goodbye to the talented Amazon women who have made significant contributions on behalf of our customers, team and company. Thank you for your dedication and work. To help with your transition, we provide packages that include separation pay, transition benefits depending on the country, and outsourced job placement support.
Our prioritization of initiatives that we know will move the needle, along with our continued investments in programming, marketing and products, positions our business for an even stronger future. Prime Video is one of the most popular benefits for Prime members and one of the most widely used entertainment destinations in the world. I’m proud of the work you do every day for our customers and I look forward to continuing to build our business for the future.
-Mike