Amazon axing 18,000 jobs worldwide to slash costs

Online retail titan Amazon is cutting more than 18,000 jobs worldwide in the largest lay-off programme in its history as part of plans to slash costs.

It is understood the job losses will include the UK and Europe, but the firm has not given details of how each country will be affected.

No details of sites impacted have been revealed as of yet. Dunfermline and Gourock are both home to significant depots and thousands of employees in Scotland.

The group, which employs around 1.5 million people globally, had warned in November of job cuts without confirming a figure, but said it had found more roles would need to be axed as part of an in-depth review of its business.

Online retail titan Amazon is cutting more than 18,000 jobs worldwide in the largest layoffs programme in its history as part of plans to slash costs.

Amazon said roles that would be affected the most include those across its stores, such as Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go, as well as its human resources division.

Chief executive Andy Jassy said in a note to employees, which was made public: “These changes will help us pursue our long-term opportunities with a stronger cost structure.”

He blamed the move on an “uncertain economy”, saying “we’ve hired rapidly over the last several years”.

Mr Jassy also said the announcement had been brought forward after one of its employees leaked the details.

“We decided it was better to share this news earlier, so you can hear the details directly from me,” Mr Jassy said.

The group expects to tell staff directly impacted by the cuts from January 18 and said it was offering a separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and job placement support.

Mr Jassy said: “Companies that last a long time go through different phases. They’re not in heavy people expansion mode every year.”

Another US tech company also announced a round of major job cuts on Thursday, with Salesforce axing around 8,000 workers worldwide, or 10 per cent of its workforce.

Last year, Amazon revealed it was spending more than £50 million on three new shows being made exclusively in Scotland, with more than 750 jobs created as a result of the filming of three shows – The Rig, Anansi Boys and Good Omens 2 – which have gone into production in the past 12 months.