Amazon lays off 500 employees in India: Reports

The layoffs have been carried out as part of the 9,000 global job cuts announced by CEO Andy Jassy in March, reports said.

According to reports, Amazon has laid off around 500 employees in India, with their termination coming as part of the 9,000 global job cuts announced by CEO Andy Jassy in March.

The tech giant, however, is yet to confirm the layoffs. (Reuters File Photo)

The India layoffs have been carried out across verticals such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Human Resources (HR), reports said citing people familiar with developments.

The Seattle-based tech giant, however, is yet to confirm these layoffs.

Amazon Digital Kendras shut down

As per a Moneycontrol report, the Jeff Bezos-founded company has, as part of its restructuring in India, also shut down ‘Amazon Digital Kendras,’ a seller support function of its e-commerce business in the country. As a result, employees working in that division have either been released, or reassigned to a separate department within the organisation.

Additionally, it has pulled the plug on some of its seller onboarding functions in tier-2 cities like Kochi and Lucknow.

There is, however, a possibility of the Digital Kendras being revamped and reopened in the near future.

Second round of layoffs

This is, meanwhile, the second round of layoffs that have taken place at Amazon in recent months. In November last year, it announced its intention to release 18,000 employees, its largest workforce reduction. The layoffs began in January, including in India, where around 1,000 people were handed pink slips.