Amazon will cut “several hundred” jobs within the division for its voice assistant Alexa. The company says it has taken on other priorities, including developing generative AI. It is not yet known how many employees will ultimately be dismissed.
The wave of layoffs was announced in a memo to employees, which was seen by Reuters and GeekWire, among others . “We want to focus our energy on goals that better align with our priorities, such as developing generative AI. However, this means we will have to put a number of projects on hold,” wrote Daniel Rausch, the vice president of the Alexa division . It is not stated which projects will be stopped.
The company will contact the relevant employees in the US and Canada during Friday. Employees in India will be notified next week. This will be followed by employees in other regions, Rausch writes.
This is not the first round of layoffs at Amazon this year. In January, CEO Andy Jassy announced a round of layoffs that affected 18,000 employees . Earlier this month, Amazon reportedly cut 180 jobs in its gaming division, according to Reuters .
