Amazon has announced another round of layoffs, and this time, it is hitting its Selling Partner Services team. These are the employees who help third-party sellers set up shop, get their products delivered, and sort out account issues on Amazon’s marketplace.
The company calls them a “small number” of job cuts, but honestly, the layoffs just keep rolling lately. This is all part of Amazon’s ongoing shakeup across different teams, a process that’s been running for months.
Amazon likes to say that it is always reviewing how teams are set up, just to keep everything in line with its bigger plans and boost efficiency. If you are one of the people getting let go, you will get a support package, some healthcare for a while, severance checks, and help finding a new job. Amazon admits these are not easy calls to make, but rather the goal is to trim down and run smoothly.
Selling partner services team was impacted
Business Insider stated that the Selling Partner Services team are actually a big deal since they keep millions of third-party sellers up and running on Amazon’s platform.
Job cuts continue across multiple divisions
The bigger picture is that this round is just another set of layoffs that has been planned by the company. Over the past six months, Amazon has already removed around 30,000 workers, trimming teams in October and again in January, plus making other cuts (even in robotics).
It is pretty much clear that Amazon is still trying to find some balance after all the breakneck hiring they did when online shopping exploded during the pandemic. Now, the focus has shifted to tightening things up and cutting out layers of complexity.
Amazon doubling down on artificial intelligence
At the same time, Amazon is not pulling back on spending everywhere. If anything, they are doubling down on artificial intelligence, which is pouring cash into AI for retail, logistics, ads, and cloud services.
CEO Andy Jassy stated that AI is going to change everything for customers and make the company run more efficiently. He also admitted that as AI takes over more tasks, Amazon simply will not need as many people for certain jobs.
So, while Amazon is letting its workforce go, it is is further dropping serious money into the tech of the future. Big plans for data centres and AI infrastructure are rolling ahead, all part of the company’s bet that technology will set the pace for what’s next.
