Amazon cuts some jobs in its communications, sustainability units

Amazon is laying off some employees in its communications and sustainability units, an executive overseeing the divisions announced internally on Wednesday.

In a note to staffers viewed by CNBC, Drew Herdener, Amazon’s head of public relations, wrote that the company is eliminating some jobs in those groups as part of a wider review into the “current org design” of the divisions.

“As we examined our current org design and decided on the shifts outlined above, we identified some roles that were too narrowly scoped or that introduced unnecessary layers, where we couldn’t solve the challenge by flattening the structure or shifting workloads,” Herdener wrote. “To address this and do the right thing for the business, we’re eliminating a small number of roles in Communications and Sustainability. This is a difficult decision to make and one that my leadership team and I do not take lightly.”

Amazon spokesperson Brad Glasser confirmed the layoffs and said in a statement that the job cuts would “help us move faster, increase ownership, strengthen our culture, and bring teams closer to customers.” Bloomberg earlier reported the job cuts.

Herdener went on to say that the company may rehire some employees for roles at lower levels, “and in others, we will redstribute the headcount to other areas within the org.” Amazon will provide financial support, continued benefits and job placement assistance to laid off staffers, Herdener said.

Amazon cut more than 27,000 jobs across the company in 2022 and 2023 as part of CEO Andy Jassy’s efforts to rein in costs. It had smaller rounds of job cuts in 2024 and stretching into this year. The company has also continued to wind down some of its more experimental or unprofitable initiatives, including a “Try Before You Buy” clothing service and a speedy brick-and-mortar delivery program.

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