Amazon cuts off 180 jobs in games divisions

More than 180 people are being laid off by Amazon from two divisions focused on gaming, marking the second round of layoffs this week.

Just one day after it was announced that Amazon had laid off workers in its music streaming section, the company now intends to restructure by laying off over 180 workers in its games division. The firm is attempting to reorganize its Prime Gaming division as lingering recessionary worries force big corporations to make expense reductions. These layoffs affect several of Amazon’s gaming teams, including Crown Channel and Game Growth.

The Crown Channel broadcasts original programming on Twitch, including Potluck, a variety show hosted by a comedian and Twitch streamer, and Screen Invaders which features an exciting Candy Crush Saga tournament. According to the Amazon Games website, Game Growth was the second program that was axed. Its goal was to reinvent how game developers market their products all over the world.

Amazon is cutting 180 employees from its Games division https://t.co/JuRqnAj9ZP

— Layoffs.fyi (@Layoffsfyi) November 13, 2023

The layoffs were announced in an email to employees on Monday by Vice President of Amazon Games Christoph Hartmann. Although the business understands that this will be terrible news for those impacted, Amazon Games states that the change was required to allow the company to concentrate its efforts on providing gamers with amazing games both now and in the future. The organization is making an effort to guarantee that each affected employee receives the personalized assistance they require, such as health insurance coverage, outplacement services, severance compensation, and more.

Amazon’s lays off wave continues  

Since January, Amazon has cut more than 27,000 jobs from its workforce in a mass layoff wave that began with 18,000 positions being eliminated. Later in March, Amazon declared that it would be letting go of a further 9,000 workers from Twitch, advertising, HR, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). More than 100 workers were let off by Amazon in April of this year from its gaming departments, which include Prime Gaming, Game Growth, and Amazon Games.

Many people are beginning to lose hope in gaming as a viable source of employment as a result of Amazon participating heavily in the game industry layoffs. If 2023 has shown anything, it’s that large industry ownership may pose more of a risk than a safety net and that no corporation is resistant to huge layoffs. There appears to be an increasing number of layoffs in the business every week.

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