"As part of our ongoing work to make our teams and programs operate more efficiently, and to better align with our business roadmap, we’ve made the difficult decision to eliminate a small number of roles within the Books organization,” an Amazon spokesperson stated, confirming the adjustments.
This latest reduction follows a pattern of targeted workforce adjustments at Amazon, which has seen piecemeal job cuts in various departments. Recent impacts include the devices and services unit, the Wondery podcast division, and staff within its stores and communications teams. These organizational shifts align with a broader initiative led by CEO Andy Jassy, aimed at reducing what he has publicly described as an excess of bureaucracy within the company, including a focus on decreasing the number of management positions.
Despite these strategic workforce reductions, Amazon's overall employment figures show a slight increase. The company disclosed last month that it added approximately 4,000 jobs through the first quarter of this year compared to the fourth quarter of last year.
Shares of Amazon saw a modest gain of 0.3% on Thursday, though they remain down 5.6% year-to-date. The news of the job cuts in the books division was initially reported by Business Insider. This restructuring signals Amazon's continued efforts to optimize its vast operations amidst evolving market dynamics and its CEO's vision for a leaner, more agile corporate structure.