After years of trimming its post-pandemic workforce, Amazon is preparing another massive round of layoffs — said to be its largest yet. Reports from Reuters and Bloomberg indicate that the tech giant is preparing to cut down 30,000 jobs across several ‘key divisions,’ including Amazon Games. The move follows CEO Andy Jassy’s ongoing push to streamline operations and double down on AI throughout its global network.
Amazon hasn’t publicly announced the total of 30,000 layoffs, but it has acknowledged cutting about 14,000 jobs so far, and more are expected. The impacted areas range from HR or People Experience & Technology to operations, devices and services, including its gaming and cloud divisions.
Most cuts on Amazon Gaming are reported centered around Irvine and San Diego studios, as well as its main publishing arm. The exact number of developers affected is still unclear, but the company will be reducing its efforts on ‘big-budget MMO’ games.
“While we’re proud of our successes in first-party AAA game development and publishing, we have made the difficult decision to halt a significant amount of our first-party AAA game development work – specifically around MMOs – within Amazon Game Studios, including making significant role reductions in our studios in Irvine and San Diego, as well as our central publishing team,” wrote Steve Boom, vice president of Audio, Twitch, and Games to the gaming division’s staff, according to Bloomberg News.
Amazon Games’ Irvine office — also known as Amazon Games Orange County — was formed after the company acquired Double Helix Games in 2014. The studio is best known for developing the PC MMO New World that launched in 2021. As for the San Diego branch, it’s flown mostly under the radar, backing other live-service projects rather than leading its own.
Across the company, Amazon employs around 1.55 million people worldwide, with about 350,000 in corporate roles. The massive 30,000 layoffs would account for nearly 10% of Amazon’s workforce. Despite this, the company still plans to hire 250,000 seasonal workers to strengthen its logistics and fulfillment operations ahead of the holiday rush.
As Amazon shakes up its gaming ambitions, it’s hard not to wonder what happens next for New World — as well as Twitch, and Luna. Whether they keep trudging along or slowly fade into the background, this round of layoffs might decide which ones make the cut.
