The Blubber

Per Bloomberg

Amazon HR staffers are now looking for new jobs for themselves despite still being employed at the company. This comes as even the HR staffers are worried about losing their jobs.

The company has announced its plans to lay off over 17,000 workers (some reports say 18,000), which will be Amazon's highest staff cut. Initially, there were reports that the company would only let go of 10,000 cuts.

The new move is known as "career cushioning," which involves people already employed having a plan B. These moves are usually done discreetly through networking or other techniques and are not usually done through formal applications.

However, some Amazon employees are more vocal about looking for new work. The report notes that their LinkedIn profiles even specify that they are #OpenToWork" while fully employed at the company. Everyone, even their own bosses, can view the post.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy shared how the decisions were not taken lightly and that the company had to make the difficult decision of letting go of certain people. The CEO shared how they are trying to support those affected by the cuts through separation payments.

Jassy: “We are working to support those who are affected and are providing packages that include a separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and external job placement support.”

Here are the different departments especially affected:

• People
• Experience
• Technology

Aside from its retail business, Amazon is planning to increase its film budget as the company plans to spend $1 billion yearly to make 12 to 15 movies. Despite its initial budget, a smaller number of films is expected to be produced in 2023, per a report.

In 2021, the company spent $13 billion on content, which includes its video and music streaming services, which was a jump from $11 billion in 2020. In 2022, the company spent $8.45 billion to acquire MGM Studios, the legendary movie maker.

See flow at unusualwhales.com/flow.

Other News:

• Amazon to lay off more than 17,000 workers
• Amazon plans to spend $1 billion a year on theatrical film releases

Resources:

Bloomberg