Amazon India Begins Global Layoffs Across Multiple Divisions

Amazon India is currently experiencing significant uncertainty as the company implements its latest round of global layoffs, impacting employees across multiple divisions starting Tuesday. Affected teams span Prime Video, Devices & Services, Finance, Global Business Services, Competitor Monitoring, and the Human Resources department. The majority of these impacted employees are located in Bengaluru, with some roles also affected in Chennai and Hyderabad. Employees are typically informed through one-on-one meetings with their managers, and some have been asked to leave within hours of signing exit documents. The standard exit package includes benefits such as two months of garden leave, two months of severance pay, and one month's notice pay, along with additional compensation based on years of service.

Impact This news signals a broader trend of cost-cutting and restructuring in the global tech industry, significantly affecting India's substantial tech workforce. It may lead to increased competition for talent and could temporarily dampen investor sentiment regarding large-cap tech firms, while also underscoring the strategic shift towards Artificial Intelligence. The impact on Amazon's global stock is likely to be moderate, as this is part of an announced strategy, but it reinforces concerns about future growth sustainability. Rating: 7/10

Difficult terms Garden leave: A period where an employee is still on the company payroll but is instructed not to come to work and not to start a new job, often used during notice periods. Severance pay: Compensation paid to an employee upon termination of employment, usually as a form of compensation for the loss of the job. L3: A junior employee level within Amazon's organizational structure. L7: A senior managerial level employee within Amazon's organizational structure. AWS: Amazon Web Services, Amazon's cloud computing division. Artificial Intelligence (AI): The simulation of human intelligence processes by computer systems, including learning, problem-solving, and decision-making.