Tech layoffs continue as Amazon cuts 'several hundred' at Prime Video and MGM Studios and Twitch makes 'just over 500' layoffs

By James Rogers

Tech layoffs are in the spotlight again as Amazon and Twitch announce job cuts

Tech layoffs are continuing, with Amazon.com Inc. cutting "several hundred" roles across its Prime Video and MGM Studios organization, according to an email sent to staff Wednesday morning. In a separate announcement, Twitch, the Amazon-owned live-streaming platform, said it is cutting over 500 jobs.

"Throughout the past year, we've looked at nearly every aspect of our business with an eye towards improving our ability to deliver even more breakthrough movies, TV shows, and live sports in a personalized, easy to use entertainment experience for our global customers," Mike Hopkins, SVP of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, said in the note, which was provided to MarketWatch by Amazon (AMZN). "As a result, we've identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact."

"As a result of these decisions, we will be eliminating several hundred roles across the Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios organization," Hopkins added.

Related: Tech layoffs in the spotlight again as 2024 kicks off with Xerox job cuts

Amazon saw waves of layoffs in 2023, with the tech giant announcing 18,000 job cuts last January, and another 9,000 in March. In November Amazon said that it is cutting several hundred jobs related to its Alexa smart assistant, with the company shifting more resources toward generative AI.

Twitch also announced layoffs Wednesday. In an email to employees that was shared as a blog post Twitch CEO Daniel Clancy said the company is making just over 500 job cuts. "Today I have some incredibly difficult news to share. As you all know, we have worked hard over the last year to run our business as sustainably as possible," he wrote. "Unfortunately, we still have work to do to rightsize our company and I regret having to share that we are taking the painful step to reduce our headcount by just over 500 people across Twitch." The cuts account for 35% of the company's workforce, according to Bloomberg.

Tech layoffs are in the spotlight again after Xerox Holdings Corp. (XRX) announced plans to cut 15% of its workforce last week. On Monday videogame software maker Unity Software Inc. (U) said it plans to cut around 1,800 employees, or 25% of its workforce.

Related: Unity Software to cut 25% of staff amid continued restructuring

The tech sector saw a slew of job cuts last year, with 1,186 companies around the world making 262,682 layoffs in 2023, according to the website Layoffs.fyi.

Jon Swartz and Bill Peters contributed.

-James Rogers

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01-10-24 1208ET

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