Amazon Layoffs: Over 100 Employees Laid-off from Video Games Division

Amazon layoffs have been announced at the Game Growth group, Amazon's San Diego gaming studio, and Prime Gaming. Over 100 employees will be let go, and the fresh round of layoffs are part of the 9,000 job cuts announced by Amazon earlier this year. “As part of our annual planning process, leaders across the company work with their teams to decide what investments they want to make for the future, prioritizing what matters most to customers and the long-term health of our businesses. For several years leading up to this one, most of our businesses added a significant amount of headcount,” said Andy Jassy, CEO, Amazon. 

While Amazon Games was launched in 2013, it gained momentum over the past couple of years. So far, two games have been launched and seven more projects have been announced in addition to the new Crown shows and Prime Gaming content. “Going forward, our resources will be aligned to support our focus on content. We will continue to invest in our internal development efforts, and our teams will continue to grow as our projects progress: The New World team in Irvine will grow as we shift some resources to further support its continued development,” said Christoph Hartmann, vice president of Amazon Games.

He went on to add that while the studio in Montreal will continue to expand, and is making great progress on their unannounced project, the San Diego studio of the company will double down on the pre-production phase of their unannounced game, as that project was not yet ready for a full production size team. 

What Employees Impacted by Amazon Layoffs Will Receive

Hartmann says that those impacted would be invited for a live meeting, and spoken to so that they will be able to ask questions. The impacted employees will also be offered the following:

• Severance pay.
• Health insurance benefits.
• Outplacement services.
• Paid time to conduct their job search.

Till date, over 11000 employees have been fired by Amazon, and the company has announced its intent to let go of nearly 18,000 employees.