Amazon said Wednesday it's cutting hundreds of jobs in its cloud computing unit AWS as part of a strategic shift.
The company will trim "a few hundred roles" in the team that overlooks technology for physical stores, a move that comes just a day after Amazon said it was ditching Just Walk Out technology in its U.S. grocery stores.
In addition to the physical stores technology team, Amazon said it's cutting "several hundred roles" in the AWS sales, marketing and global service organization. Most of those cuts are related to business changes in AWS training and certification programs as well as sales operations. The tech giant said it was also making cuts elsewhere so it can invest in other business priorities.
"These decisions are difficult but necessary as we continue to invest, hire, and optimize resources to deliver innovation for our customers," Amazon spokesperson Duncan Neasham said in a statement.
The AWS job reductions come after other job cuts at Amazon and its subsidiaries this year. In January, the company cut several hundred positions across its Prime Video and MGM Studios unit.
That same month, Twitch, the popular social media platform owned by Amazon, eliminated more than 500 jobs in a bid to save on costs. The online audiobook and podcast service Audible also fired about 5% of its workforce. Amazon says it will continue to hire in priority areas. The company currently has thousands of AWS job openings posted online.
It says it will try to find internal opportunities for employees whose roles are affected.
Amazon said Tuesday that it is removing Just Walk Out technology from its Amazon Fresh stores as part of an effort to revamp the grocery chain.
The company's well-known technology lets customers pay for items without standing in line and sends them receipts afterwards. Amazon says it will now be replaced by smart carts that allow customers to skip the checkout line but also see their spending in real time.
While redesigning Fresh stores in the past year, Amazon spokesperson Carly Golden said the company heard from customers who enjoy skipping the checkout line but also wanted to view their receipts and savings as they shopped. Golden said the smart carts will give customers these benefits as well as the convenience of skipping the checkout line.
Amazon's decision was first reported by The Information.
Seattle-based Amazon operates dozens of Fresh grocery stores across the country, most of which are in California, Illinois, Virginia and Washington state. The company also operates cashier-free convenience stores under the Amazon Go brand and owns Whole Foods, which it purchased in 2017 for $13.7 billion.
Despite predictions Amazon's entry into the grocery sector would disrupt the market, the company has struggled to find what works.
In 2023, Amazon Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy wrote in his annual letter to shareholders that Amazon was working to find the right formula that will allow it to have a larger impact on physical grocery. The company has shut down some Amazon Fresh and Go stores that weren't living up to their promise and said early last year that it was pausing expansion on Fresh stores.
In November, the company reopened three Fresh stores in Los Angeles, California. Golden, the Amazon spokesperson, said the company is now focused on "selectively" opening new Fresh stores and remodeling the majority of its existing stores.
Just Walk Out technology will continue to be offered in Amazon Go stores and some smaller Amazon Fresh stores in the U.K., the company said. It will also continue offering the technology to third-party retailers.