UK employees will be among the thousands of roles Amazon is axing globally, sources have told The Grocer.
In an announcement today, Amazon said it was making “additional organisational changes across Amazon that will impact some of our teammates” – to the tune of 16,000 job cuts.
The announcement follows the October announcement from the company that it would be reducing its workforce by approximately 14,000 roles.
“Some of you might ask if this is the beginning of a new rhythm – where we announce broad reductions every few months. That’s not our plan,” said Beth Galetti, senior VP of people experience and technology at Amazon in a message to employees today.
According to sources, the net number of roles in the UK is unlikely to be impacted, given Amazon’s £40bn investment in the UK in the three years to 2027, which was announced in June.
The investment would create thousands of “new permanent, full-time jobs in the UK, with the vast majority outside of London and the south east” Amazon said at the time.
These include 2,000 jobs at a new fulfilment centre in Hull and 2,000 jobs at another in Northampton, plus additional positions at new sites in the East Midlands and elsewhere across the UK. More than 60 different roles would be created at new sites, including positions for robotics technicians, safety experts and mechatronic engineers, Amazon said.
The company currently employs more than 75,000 people in the UK.
Galetti said the cuts were part of an effort to “strengthen our organisation by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy”.
Her statement came hours after the cuts were accidentally shared when a draft email written by Colleen Aubrey, a senior VP at Amazon Web Services (AWS), making clear layoffs were happening, was included in a calendar invitation sent by an executive assistant to a number of Amazon workers.
The GMB union expressed its dismay at Amazon’s decision.
“Amazon is showing itself for what it is: a company that cannot be trusted to do the right thing by working people in the UK,” said Rachel Fagan, GMB organiser.
“Bosses are overseeing thousands of job losses which will cause huge damage in towns and cities across the country. Now is the time for decision makers to recognise Amazon as a company fixated on eye-watering profits at the expense of workers and local people.”
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