Amazon Audio Division to Layoff 110 Employees at Wondery, CEO Jen Sargent Also Steps Down

Amazon is reportedly laying off approximately 110 employees from its Wondery podcast arm. The Wondery’s narrative teams will be merged with its online audiobook platform ‘Audible’, said Steve Boom, Amazon’s VP of Audio, Twitch and Games.

Currently, the company’s audio division is in under restructuring process. Its creator-driven content will now fall under a newly formed unit called “Creator Services”. The layoffs, first reported by Bloomberg, come as part of Amazon’s efforts to streamline and realign its audio strategy.

Besides this, Wondery CEO Jen Sargent is also stepping down from his position. Boom, as quoted by Bloomberg, stated that these changes aim to better position Amazon to handle new strategic opportunities. This will ensure an improved experience for creators, customers, and advertisers.

Boom further acknowledged that the evolving podcast landscape, highlighting how platforms like YouTube have transformed the space by prioritising video podcasts. This shift has forced audio-centric services to reconsider their approaches as the paths to discovery, audience growth, and monetisation significantly vary between narrative-driven and creator-led content.

The internal restructuring process signals a major strategic shift for Amazon, which acquired Wondery in 2020 to strengthen its lineup of original audio content.Wondery had built a strong reputation with successful narrative series like Dirty John and Dr. Death, and more recently secured big-name partnerships with New Heights featuring Jason and Travis Kelce, as well as Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert.

Amazon, meanwhile, has also planned to introduce advertising into multi‑turn interactions with its upgraded voice assistant, Alexa+.

Until now, ads on Alexa have been limited to pre‑recorded spots between songs or occasional banner ads on Echo Show displays. But Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s remarks represent a departure: envisioning dynamic AI‑generated recommendations woven into back‑and‑forth dialogues.

He noted that shoppers today already complete purchases with Alexa, a “delightful shopping experience that will keep getting better”, and that advertisers are keen to reach customers in this new format.

Amazon is far from alone in exploring ads within AI interfaces. Google is trialling placements in its AI‑driven “AI Mode” search experience, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently said he’s open to “tasteful” advertising in ChatGPT. Yet the mechanics remain murky: how to ensure accuracy, prevent hallucinations and avoid eroding consumer trust are all unresolved challenges.