Amazon to cut jobs in Prime Video and Studio Operations

In a significant move, Amazon.com has announced plans to lay off several hundred employees in its streaming and studio operations. This decision comes as part of the company’s broader strategy to streamline and refocus its resources, extending the trend of massive job cuts that various companies have implemented over the past two years into 2024.

The impacted workforce at Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios in the Americas will receive notifications on Wednesday, 10 January 2024, with employees in most other regions expected to be informed by the end of the week. In 2023, Amazon undertook a substantial downsizing effort, cutting more than 27,000 jobs as part of a wider wave of tech layoffs in the United States. This move came after a period of extensive hiring during the pandemic.

Mike Hopkins, Senior Vice President of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, has explained that the management has identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas. He also emphasized that this task would be done by increasing investments and focusing on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact.

Amazon has been on an aggressive spending spree in recent years to strengthen its presence in the streaming business. Some crucial acquisitions that have been made include the $8.5 billion deal for MGM and a substantial investment of around $465 million in the first season of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” on Prime Video in 2022.

In addition to job cuts, Amazon is set to introduce advertisements on Prime Video and a more expensive ad-free subscription tier in certain markets. These moves align with similar strategies employed by industry rivals like Netflix and Walt Disney.

Following widespread job cuts in 2022 and 2023, companies are now selectively targeting projects and divisions to reallocate resources effectively. Amazon recently trimmed jobs in its Alexa voice assistant division, while Microsoft made staff reductions at its LinkedIn professional network. Furthermore, Amazon’s Twitch service is reportedly set to lay off 500 employees, constituting about 35% of its workforce, according to recent media reports.

Amazon Prime Video launched on 7 September 2006. Back then, it was launched under the name Amazon Unbox in the United States. Later in 2011, it was renamed Amazon Instant Video on Demand. Currently, Amazon Prime Video is available in 28 languages and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA. It provides worldwide services, excluding Mainland China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Russia, Belarus, Syria, and Vietnam.

Despite these charges, Amazon’s shares, which experienced an impressive surge of over 80% in 2023, were up 1.5% in afternoon trading, showcasing investor confidence in the company’s overall trajectory.