Amazon Reduces Staff in the Book Division

Amazon has cut an undetermined number of jobs in its Books division as part of a company-wide attempt to save costs.

on Nov 23, 2022

Amazon has cut an undetermined number of jobs in its Books division as part of a company-wide attempt to save costs. The reductions were announced in a memo yesterday from CEO Andy Jassy to employees, who was outlining "job eliminations" in its Books and Devices units.

"Today, I'd want to talk about role eliminations. The letter added, "We are in the midst of our annual operations planning review, where we look at each of our businesses and decide what we think we should alter. Yesterday, we announced a voluntary reduction offer for some employees in our People, Experience, and Technology (PXT) organization as well as the difficult decision to eliminate several positions across our Devices and Books businesses.”

The letter was sent after the business revealed plans to cut its personnel number and established a recruiting freeze. According to Jassy, downsizing measures are anticipated to continue into the following year. As leaders continue to make adjustments, more role reductions will occur as our yearly planning process continues into the following year.

Early in 2023, those decisions will be communicated to the companies and employees who will be impacted. We don't yet know how many additional roles will be affected (although we do know that there will be reductions in our Stores and PXT organizations), but each leader will let their respective teams know as soon as we know the specifics.

At the time of publication, it was unclear exactly where changes to the Books division had been made. The Books division of Amazon includes all of the e-businesses tailers that deal with books, from its online storefronts to its Kindle division.

The corporation decided this summer to drastically cut back on book orders as it attempted to sell off the mountain of inventory it had accumulated to match the demand for books during the outbreak. This decision was made in response.

A spokeswoman for Amazon stated that the company was still dedicated to the book industry. The same statement was made this morning to PW by a representative, who said, "We remain as committed as ever to the book business and to collaborating closely with writers, publishers, and sellers around the world to provide the finest experience for readers.

However, the most recent information is likely to strengthen the perception among publishers that Amazon is losing interest in its book business. HarperCollins cited a major decline in e-tailer orders earlier this month as the main cause of its sales declining 11% in the three months that ended on September 30. Business with Amazon had improved in the fall, and HC CEO Brian Murray told PW that he hoped the worst of the ordering decline was behind them.

The cuts follow the decision made by the company this summer to significantly reduce book orders as it worked to sell down the mountain of inventory it acquired to meet the demand for books during the pandemic

Nevertheless, the latest news is likely to add more fuel to the feeling within publishing that Amazon is losing interest in its book business