Amazon to fire 16,000 employees, US-based staff will get 90 days to look for new roles. Details here

Amazon was reported to slash around 16,000 jobs in its latest round of layoffs in the tech industry. A senior vice president at the e-commerce giant, Beth Galetti, announced the decision on Wednesday (Jan 28) via a blog post, which was sent to the employees. This came after a round of layoffs in October last year when Amazon fired 14,000 workers.

"Some of you might ask if this is the beginning of a new rhythm – where we announce broad reductions every few months. That's not our plan," Galetti said, CBS News reported.

"But just as we always have, every team will continue to evaluate the ownership, speed, and capacity to invent for customers, and make adjustments as appropriate. That's never been more important than it is today in a world that's changing faster than ever," she added.

"While we're making these changes, we'll also continue hiring and investing in strategic areas and functions that are critical to our future. We're still in the early stages of building every one of our businesses, and there's significant opportunity ahead," she further said.

She also said that the US-based staff would be allotted a time frame of 90 days to look for a new role. They will be offered severance pay, outplacement services, and health insurance benefits.