on cuts its advertising unit

Amazon laid off workers in its advertising division on Tuesday as part of Andy Jassy’s cost-control efforts.

Uncertainty surrounds the exact number of employees affected in the ad division.

What’s happening. Amazon has experienced the biggest layoffs it’s ever had in its history. This follows a hiring boom during the Covid Pandemic. Amazon’s global staff will grow to over 1.6million by the end 2021. This is up from the 798,000 employees in the fourth quarter 2019.

The aftermath. Amazon has reallocated resources as a result. This includes shifting team members and slowing or stopping certain programs. As a result, a small portion of the organization was eliminated from certain roles. The layoffs were scheduled to begin on July 17, or June 20 for New Yorkers and New Jerseyers, after a 60-90-day transition period.

Transition to another role. During the transition period, the affected employees have the chance to find another job within the company. Unknown is the exact number of layoffs in the advertising division. Jassy revealed last month that Amazon will lay off 9,000 workers in addition to 18,000 previously announced cuts in November and January. These earlier layoffs were mainly targeted at retail, devices and recruiting groups, as well as human resources.

Jassy also examines the company’s costs on a larger basis, as it is facing an economic downturn. Its core retail business has also seen a slowdown in growth. Amazon has frozen its hiring in the corporate workforce, stopped some experimental projects and slowed down warehouse expansion. Jassy’s announcement of layoffs at Amazon Web Services and the Advertising divisions shows that even Amazon’s most profitable and largest businesses are not immune from cost-cutting.

What Amazon said. Paul Kotas’ memo to employees informed them of the job losses. In the memo, Amazon stressed that it has prioritized resources throughout its 2023 planning to maximize benefits for customers and ensure long-term business health.

“Hi Everyone,

I wanted to let you know that we have taken the difficult step this morning of notifying Amazon Ads Team members in the U.S.A. and Canada who are affected by the role reductions. In other regions we follow local policies that require extra time and processes, including consultations with employee representative groups. In other regions, we will communicate with the affected employees according to their policies and timelines. We understand that this is a big news for our entire team and want to give you more information about the decision to eliminate certain roles as well as how we will support our colleagues who are affected.

Andy explained a few weeks back that we have been prioritizing our resources throughout the planning process for 2023, with an eye to maximizing the benefits to customers, and the health of our company in the long term. This process for Ads has included reallocating resources, either by shifting team members or slowing or stopping certain programmes, or deciding that we did not have the skills to meet our priorities. We have taken a number of carefully considered decisions on how to best move forward. This has led to the elimination of certain roles within our organization.

In particular, I would like to thank and acknowledge our colleagues who have been impacted for their work on behalf of Amazon Ads’ customers. We are focusing on supporting our team through this transition. To this end, all employees who have had their roles eliminated will be invited to a follow-up personal meeting with the leader of their team, explaining what is next. The affected employees will be paid and receive benefits for 60 days (90 in New York or New Jersey), as well as a severance package, and support with finding a new job outside of Amazon.

Even in an uncertain economy, I am very optimistic about what lies ahead. We have a solid foundation, and I am personally excited about the innovation and building that is happening in our organization. I want to thank you all for your empathy and support in this difficult time. If you have any questions, please contact your team leaders or MyHR.

Paul Kotas is Amazon’s senior vice president for advertising, IMDb, and Grand Challenge

The tech industry is hit hard by layoffs. Meta announced today that it will be laying off employees from Facebook, Instagram Reality Labs and WhatsApp. Meta North American employees were notified via email on Wednesday between the hours of 4am and 5am PT. The timelines outside of North America will vary from country to country and some countries won’t be affected.

Why we care. Apart from Layoffs, they signal a change in Amazon’s priorities. These changes may impact the advertising landscape of the platform and the tools, services, or opportunities that are available to advertisers.

It is also never easy to lose a job. Amazon, Meta and Google employees, as well as those from other tech companies that are going through difficult times, all have valuable expertise and experience in the advertising industry. Their insights and skills can be a valuable asset for other companies that are looking to improve their advertising departments.

The article Amazon’s advertising unit is hit by layoffs first appeared on Search Engine Land.