Amazon may cut 20,000 employees including top managers

The mass layoff is likely to continue at Amazon as the company plans to sack as many as 20,000 employees in the coming months. Staff from all levels, including distribution center workers, technology staff, and corporate executives, will be fired as the retail and cloud computing giant retrenches after going on a hiring spree during the pandemic.

At Amazon, employees are divided into different levels, from 1 to 7, and staff at all levels will likely be affected, reported a technology magazine, Computer World. Currently, the company managers are in the process to identify work performance problems among employees, as part of an effort to lay off about 20,000 people. 

Twenty thousand employees, which means 6 per cent of Amazon's corporate staff, have been told that they will receive a 24-hour notice and severance pay, in accordance with their company contracts. 

“There is a sense of fear among employees in the company as the news has come out. There is no specific department or location mentioned for the cuts; it is across the business. We were told this is as a result of over-hiring during the pandemic and the need for cost-cutting as the company's financials have been on a declining trend,” said Computer World’s source, who was told directly about the layoff effort.

The layoffs would be the largest staff reduction in the company's history.