Amazon is set to lay off hundreds of employees across its subsidiaries Twitch, Prime Video, and MGM studios. Approximately 500 Twitch employees, which is a third of the workforce, will be affected by the layoffs. Chief executive Dan Clancy confirmed this in a note to staff. Additionally, several hundred employees at Prime Video and MGM studios will also lose their jobs this week. Despite reporting significant profits, Amazon has already laid off over 27,000 employees in 2023. Twitch, originally created for gamers to watch and share video gameplay online, was acquired by Amazon in 2014 for $970 million. In an email to employees, Clancy explained that the layoffs were necessary to create a more sustainable business. He mentioned that the company paid out $1 billion to streamers in 2023 but had conservative expectations for future growth. Amazon reported a profit of $9.9 billion in July to September, up from $2.9 billion during the same period in 2022. In an email sent to Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios staff, senior vice president Mike Hopkins stated that the company would be reducing or discontinuing investments in certain areas while focusing on content and product initiatives with the most impact. He acknowledged that it was a difficult decision to make and indicated that the job losses would affect employees in the US and around the world. Amazon acquired MGM Studios for $8.45 billion in 2021 and announced plans to introduce advertisements on Prime Video starting from February 5, 2024. These layoffs are part of a broader trend in the tech sector, which saw a significant increase in job cuts in 2023 compared to the previous year.
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