Amazon will lay off approximately 400 workers in Washington state as part of its decision to close all Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores across the country, according to a notice filed with the state Employment Security Department on Wednesday.
The layoffs are expected to take effect April 28, with separations occurring at 11 facilities across the Seattle area, including locations in Seattle, Bellevue, Mill Creek, and Puyallup.
These cuts, impacting retail employees, appear to be separate from a larger Amazon corporate workforce reduction of approximately 16,000 employees globally announced Wednesday.
Amazon said Tuesday it will close all 57 Amazon Fresh stores and 15 remaining Amazon Go locations nationwide. With the closures, Whole Foods will become Amazon’s only physical store brand in the U.S. Amazon acquired the grocery chain in 2017 and says it plans to open more than 100 new Whole Foods locations over the next several years.
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The company is also betting on delivery, continuing the Amazon Fresh brand online, with same-day perishables now available in more than 2,300 U.S. cities.
Positions affected by the closure include retail store associates, food production associates, loss prevention specialists, and store managers. Amazon said it is providing 90 days notice, exceeding the 60-day requirement under federal and state law. Employees who accept internal transfers before their separation date will not be laid off.
The largest impacts will be at three Amazon Fresh stores: the Aurora Avenue North location in Seattle (146 employees), the South Jackson Street store in Seattle (92 employees), and the Factoria Square Mall location in Bellevue (82 employees).
Smaller Amazon Go locations in downtown Seattle and Bellevue account for the remaining layoffs, with individual sites ranging from 4 to 17 employees.
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