Amazon layoffs: 10,000 workers fired worldwide, Indians on H1B visa impacted badly

On Wednesday, e-commerce large Amazon started the method of laying-off its workers to implement cost-cutting after it reported revenue drops in the previous few quarters. The firm gave no prior data to the staff and despatched them emails in search of the termination of their providers. The firm plans to put off round 10,000 workers globally this week throughout departments.

According to the experiences, the corporate issued a notification confirming that it was slicing down worker numbers on account of ‘unusual and uncertain macroeconomic environments.’ David Limp, Senior Vice President of Devices and Services at Amazon additionally assured within the notification that the corporate would proceed to work carefully with every particular person to supply assist, together with helping to find new roles.

Amazon plans to put off roughly 10,000 folks in company & expertise jobs as quickly as this week, New York Times reported

Job cuts will give attention to Amazon’s gadgets organisation, its retail division and human sources, experiences NYT pic.twitter.com/1n6iPcmSJ0

— ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2022

“It pains me to have to deliver this news as we know we will lose talented Amazonians from the Devices & Services org as a result. While I know this news is tough to digest, I do want to emphasize that the Devices & Services organization remains an important area of investment for Amazon, and we will continue to invent on behalf of our customers,” Limp mentioned.

He additionally talked about the present financial scenario as a justification for restructuring and streamlining some groups and initiatives. “One of the repercussions of these decisions is that some positions will no longer be necessary,” he continued.

While the layoffs will have an effect on Amazon’s world workforce, they’ll have the best affect on its Devices & Services group. The impacted workers has obtained official notification of their termination, and the agency has provided them two months to search out one other place throughout the firm. If the staff are unable to discover a new job, Amazon has promised to assist them by means of the transition by offering a package deal that contains a separation fee, transitional advantages, and exterior job placement help.

Notably, the corporate had greater than 1.6 million full-time and part-time workers as of December 31 final yr. Amazon has nonetheless mentioned that the job cuts can be efficient starting on January 17. Employees working exterior of the United States and Canada have been affected by Amazon’s this resolution, most of them being Indians holding H1B visas. Many have taken to social media to tell others concerning the layoff and search a brand new job place inside a restricted time interval.

An H1B visa is granted to folks overseas who get employment within the United States. If an H1B visa holder is sacked, he would solely have 60 days to search out one other employment, or else must return to his native nation. With the current layoffs at Twitter, Meta, and now Amazon, many overseas staff, particularly an enormous variety of Indians, are in misery since they solely have 60 days to search out new employment in the event that they wish to proceed to keep within the United States.

Taking to LinkedIn, Raj Kansagra, former Software Development Engineer II at Amazon Alexa crew mentioned that he was actively in search of a job since he’s the holder of an H1B visa. “Today, I found out that I’ve been laid off. I’m joining many others who are experiencing the feelings that come with losing your dream job. I was with Amazon for 6 years. We have seen Alexa grow from its early days and it’s been an incredible journey. I’m proud of what we built together. I’m on an H1-B visa so time is of the essence to find something new,” Kansagra wrote.

by way of LinkedIn

Another former Amazon worker named Shivani Parate who labored as Software Development Engineer at Amazon for practically 2.5 years mentioned that she was laid off and that was in search of an employment alternative within the US. “Unfortunately, I was impacted by today’s layoff with 10,000 other Amazonians. It is super hard for all of us and I am still trying to navigate through this, while constrained by the timeline of being on a #visa. I am nothing but grateful for the time I have spent at Amazon, learning and collaborating with some of the brightest folks in the industry,” Parate’s LinkedIn submit learn.

by way of LinkedIn

In addition to the United States, quite a few Indians working for Amazon in Canada have additionally been laid off. Robin Badsara, a Software Development Engineer at Amazon’s Canada headquarters mentioned that he was additionally laid off. “Hello Network, Unfortunately, I was impacted by the Amazon layoff today. I was part of the Alexa development tech Team…. I am currently in Canada and available for work. If your organization has openings for sources or recruiters, please let me know or direct me to the right one. Thanks,” Badsara’s LinkedIn submit learn.

by way of LinkedIn

Amazon employs round 1.5 million folks worldwide, nearly all of whom are hourly workers. During the COVID-19 epidemic, the web retail enterprise, like different digital and social media giants, made substantial earnings as homebound patrons bought extra issues on-line. However, gross sales development slowed because the epidemic abated and clients relied much less on e-commerce. As per the experiences, the corporate reported two consecutive losses this yr.

The firm mentioned that it needed to lay off the staff to implement cost-cutting. It has beforehand axed a few of its ventures to slash bills, together with subsidiary material.com, Amazon Care, and the cooler-sized residence supply robotic Scout. It has additionally decreased its bodily footprint by suspending or cancelling plans to occupy extra services across the nation. “The company was preparing for what could be a slower growth period and will be careful about hiring shortly,” mentioned Amazon Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky.

The resolution to put off by the e-commerce large Amazon comes per week after Facebook mum or dad Meta and Elon Musk’s Twitter fired hundreds of workers globally. Last week, Facebook laid off over 11,000 workers, accounting for roughly 13% of its workforce. For the primary time within the firm’s historical past, it has decreased its workers on a large scale.  Meanwhile, Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, sacked half of its worldwide workforce of seven,500 workers, stating that “the firm would need to find new sources of revenue or it would not survive the upcoming economic collapse.”