Amazon Cuts About 250 Jobs in Devices and Services Division, Most in Software

Amazon, one of the world's largest technology and e-commerce companies, has cut about 250 jobs from its devices and services division. The company said the decision was taken to run operations more efficiently and to align its workforce structure with its product development plans.

Employees were informed of the layoff decision on Wednesday (28 October) morning through text messages and emails. The information was reported on Thursday (29 October) by NDTV, citing the Reuters news agency.

According to the report, Amazon made the layoff decision just weeks after launching several products, including new Kindle e-readers and tablet computers. The company confirmed the layoffs to Reuters.

An Amazon spokesperson said a small number of roles had been eliminated, but gave no further details. A related source said the number of layoffs was at most 250, and that most of those affected were employees of the software development department.

The company spokesperson said the decision would allow Amazon to run its operations more efficiently, and would better align its workforce structure with its product development plans.

On Wednesday, Amazon also unveiled a new Alexa-based alarm clock and photo frame.

In a message to employees, Cherry Robinson, vice president for human resources in the company's devices and services division, said the decision to reduce headcount was taken after a detailed review of the organisation's structure.

Earlier this month, Amazon cut about one thousand jobs from its core retail business division. The company is due to publish its third-quarter financial results for this year after the market closes on Thursday.