A new layoff wave of Amazon has impacted multiple gaming business units, such as Prime Gaming, Game Worth, and San Diego Studio.
Heaptalk, Jakarta — Amazon is reported to terminate roughly 100 employees from its video games division. The Vice President of Amazon Games, Christoph Hartmann, delivers this layoff announcement through an online memo on Tuesday. (04/04)
As Hartmann stated in the memo, these job cuts are part of the company’s ongoing effort to restructure and streamline its operations. This new wave of layoff policy has impacted the workforce from its Prime Gaming, Game Growth, and Amazon’s San Diego studio.
“There is never a pleasant way to share this information, but we are committed to treating our affected employees with empathy and respect. We will continue to invest in our internal development efforts, and our teams will continue to evolve as the progress of our projects,” added Hartmann.
According to CNBC, Amazon notified the affected employees about this decision yesterday by pulling them into a meeting with the human resources team. To appreciate the laid-off team, this United States-based enterprise will provide severance pay, outplacement service, health insurance benefits, and paid time to conduct their job search.
The company observed the game development endeavor has been less than successful. Amazon only offers the online RPG New World, which enjoyed early success and attempted to capitalize on the buzz by unveiling the online action role-playing game Lost Ark in February 2021. While its free-to-play shooter, Crucible, released in 2020, was only available briefly before being shut down.
After encountering turbulence in global economic issues, this American enterprise continues to reduce its operating expenses. The job termination to Amazon’s gaming divisions is part of an even more significant mass layoff that this enterprise executed in March that slashed to about 9,000 positions in the entire ecosystem. Also, around 400 were laid off from Twitch — the streaming platform Amazon acquired in 2014.
“I recognized that the impact of these decisions is not just to the business but to our teammates and friends. It never feels good to say goodbye to colleagues, and I thank you for supporting them as they work through this change. We respect this is a difficult time and that you may have questions or concerns,” Hartmann said in his written statement in the memo.
