Amazon has announced plans to cut around 14,000 corporate jobs worldwide, with the impact on its 75,000-strong UK workforce, including staff in Swansea, still unclear. Employees and teams affected are expected to be notified by company leadership on Tuesday.
The company has attributed the reductions to the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI). In an internal message, Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, addressed criticism over job cuts despite the firm reporting strong profits.
“Some may ask why we’re reducing roles when the company is performing well,” she said. “What we need to remember is that the world is changing quickly. This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet, and it’s enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before.”
Ms Galetti added that employees losing their roles would be prioritised for openings within Amazon to help “as many people as possible” find new positions.
The company said it would continue hiring in “key strategic areas” while making changes to “remove layers, increase ownership, and realise efficiency gains”.
A spokesperson added: “We are shifting resources to ensure we’re investing in our biggest bets and what matters most to our customers’ current and future needs.”
Amazon UK and the GMB union, which represents many UK workers, including those in Swansea, have been contacted for comment.
