Amazon begins layoffs in its AWS cloud division

A slowing sales growth in Amazon's most profitable division has led the company to lay off employees in its cloud services business.

Staff at Amazon Web Services in the US, Canada and Costa Rica were notified early Wednesday that their jobs were being eliminated. Most of the company's profits are generated by Amazon Web Services, but growth is slowing as corporate customers look for ways to cut costs.

After a hiring spree during the pandemic, Amazon is axing 27,000 mostly corporate positions. Amazon announced 9,000 job cuts in March after laying off about 18,000 workers earlier this year, affecting AWS, human resources, advertising and Twitch livestreaming. Cuts were rolled out in recent weeks in areas including Twitch and the company’s video game group.

“It is a tough day across our organization” AWS chief Adam Selipsky said in the email reviewed by Bloomberg.

Like much of Amazon, AWS increased its headcount rapidly as the pandemic boosted demand for digital services.

In a reorganization last year, some AWS-related teams had already been laid off, including recruiters and members of the "Just Walk Out" physical stores technology team. Its recruitment and human resources teams, retail group, and devices team were hardest hit in the first round of cuts.

In an email, Amazon's People Experience and Technology leader Beth Galetti announced the latest cuts.

“These decisions are not taken lightly, and I recognize the impact it will have across both those transitioning out of the company as well as our colleagues who remain,” she said.

Despite Jassy's email in March announcing layoffs, an Amazon spokesperson declined to comment on them.