Amazon told Engadget it will lay off about 5% of its employees in its Buy with Prime division. Buy with Prime, launching in 2022, extends membership benefits to third-party merchants who sell and ship items on other sites. CNBC The layoffs were first reported Thursday.
An Amazon spokesperson wrote in an email to Engadget that the layoffs are part of a standard review of its business needs. “We regularly review our team structure and make adjustments based on business needs, and following this recent review, we have made the difficult decision to eliminate a small number of positions within the Buy with Prime team,” a spokesperson said.
Amazon has not revealed how many employees there are in the division, but a person familiar with the matter told Engadget that about 30 employees were affected by the layoffs.
Amazon said Prime purchases remain a focus. “Buy with Prime is a top priority for Amazon, and with strong merchant adoption and positive customer feedback, we will continue to invest significant resources in Buy with Prime to build on this momentum,” a spokesperson wrote in a letter to Engadget. “We appreciate the contributions of these employees and we are focused on supporting their next steps.”
A company spokesperson told Engadget that laid-off workers will receive at least 50 days of pay and benefits and will be eligible for severance pay. Additionally, the company said it is working to find new positions within Amazon for the laid-off employees.
Although the numbers are much smaller this time, Amazon has laid off more than 27,000 employees since the end of 2022 (part of more than a year of brutal layoffs in the broader tech sector). Earlier this month, the latest round of funding involved Prime Video, MGM Studios, Audible and Twitch. Amazon’s 2023 profits hit record high.
This article originally appeared on Engadget: https://www.engadget.com/amazons-latest-layoffs-hit-buy-with-prime-which-lets-you-use-prime-benefits-on-other-websites-212140862. html?src=rss
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