Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and Salesforce Co-CEO Marc Benioff announced on Wednesday that each company would begin layoffs after economic declines. Amazon will cut 18,000 jobs—more than initially planned. Salesforce will lay off 10% of its workforce—approximately 7,000 jobs—and look to reduce its office space in certain markets.
Salesforce disclosed the restructuring plan Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Benioff stated in a letter to employees that the layoff and office closures reflect the company’s customers “taking a more cautious approach to spending.”
He also acknowledges Salesforce hired too many people throughout the pandemic, and ahead of the economic conditions they face today.
“I take responsibility for that,” Benioff stated regarding the company’s aggressive hiring.
Amazon announces cuts after press leak
The Wall Street Journal first announced the Amazon layoff, which Amazon CEO Andy Jassy attributes to “one of our teammates [who] leaked this information externally,” in an employee memo.
“We typically wait to communicate about these outcomes until we can speak with the people who are directly impacted,” Jassy stated.
Amazon acknowledged that it had added employees too quickly throughout the pandemic, as consumers shifted to online ordering and avoided retail stores. Once the pandemic eased and shoppers returned to brick-and-mortar stores, demand didn’t match pandemic levels, and Amazon was left with too much headcount.
Amazon states that the employees affected will largely come from “stores, and People, Experience and Technology (PXT) groups.” The cuts will begin on January 18.
The silver lining for most of the affected employees of Salesforce and Amazon is that unemployment for tech-skilled workers remains very low. Laid off tech workers are able to quickly find new jobs, according to a ZipRecruiter survey.
Nearly 4 in 10 laid-off tech workers had a new job in less than a month, according to ZipRecruiter.
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