Amazon is laying off an undisclosed number of employees from its robotics division. Business Insider first reported the news, and the company confirmed the cuts in a statement to GeekWire.
“We regularly review our organizations to make sure teams are best set up to innovate and deliver for our customers,” a company spokesperson said. “Following a recent review, we’ve made the difficult decision to eliminate a relatively small number of robotics roles. We don’t make these decisions lightly, and we’re committed to supporting employees whose roles are affected with severance pay, health insurance benefits, and job placement support.”
The layoffs are separate from Amazon’s broader cuts announced in January that impacted more than 16,000 corporate workers — the second phase in a restructuring that totals 30,000 positions, the largest workforce reduction in the company’s history.
In a memo to employees in January, Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, said the company did not plan to make regular rounds of massive cuts. “Some of you might ask if this is the beginning of a new rhythm — where we announce broad reductions every few months,” she wrote. “That’s not our plan.”
However, Galetti added that teams will continue to evaluate their operations and “make adjustments as appropriate,” saying that’s “never been more important than it is today in a world that’s changing faster than ever.”
Amazon’s robotics unit supports the company’s growing robot fleet that helps move products around its fulfillment centers. The company deployed its 1 millionth robot last year. In January, Amazon shut down its new Blue Jay warehouse robotic system, according to Business Insider.
Amazon also announced in January that it will close all of its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh grocery store locations. The “Just Walk Out” technology originally developed for Amazon Go convenience stores, which uses overhead cameras and sensors to avoid traditional checkout, will live on as a licensing business.
Amazon previously slashed 27,000 positions in 2023 across multiple rounds of layoffs.
The company’s corporate roles numbered around 350,000 people in early 2023, the last time Amazon provided a public figure. Its overall workforce stands at 1.58 million, which includes warehouse employees.
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