Amazon Lays Off Nearly 100 Employees in Robotics Division as Restructuring Continues

The tech and e-commerce giant Amazon has laid off staff across its robotics unit in a cost-cutting measure, affecting nearly 100 white-collar jobs, reported Business Insider.

The latest Amazon layoffs, announced Tuesday by the company's Robotics VP, Scott Dresser, in an internal message, the report said.

Dresser called the decision “difficult but necessary” and stressed that robotics remains a “strategic priority” for Amazon.

Citing an Amazon spokesperson, Business Insider wrote that the company let go of a “relatively small number of robotics roles” this week. Amazon continues to “hire and invest in strategic areas”, the report said.

“We regularly review our organisations to make sure teams are best set up to innovate and deliver for our customers,” the spokesperson told Business Insider.

“We don't make these decisions lightly, and we're committed to supporting employees whose roles are affected with severance pay, health insurance benefits, and job placement support,” the spokesperson added further.

Amazon Layoffs

The recent layoff comes after a January cut of about 16,000 jobs, with the ‌company at ⁠the time ⁠hinting that job sheds would continue.The company revealed the reductions in a press note written by Beth Galetti, Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology at Amazon.

Galetti said the changes were part of a broader effort to reduce layers of management, increase individual ownership and remove unnecessary bureaucracy across the company.

In October last year, too, the e-commerce giant had already reduced 14,000 staff under its 30,000 job cuts plan.

Globally, Amazon employs around 1.5mn people and nearly 350,000 of them are in corporate roles.