Amazon is cutting 5% of the workforce at its Audible division, according to an internal email obtained by Business Insider.
On Thursday, Audible's CEO Bob Carrigan wrote an email to his team notifying the "tough decision to reduce roles within our organization," the email said. "Approximately five percent of our workforce is impacted by this reduction."
Spokespeople at Amazon declined a request for comment but Carrigan explained the decision in his email: "To position us for continued success in the coming year and into the future, given the increasingly challenging landscape we face, we have to take this difficult decision now."
The job cuts follow broader layoffs at other parts of Amazon this week. On Wednesday, the live streaming platform Twitch cut 500 jobs, while Prime Video and MGM Studios team announced "several hundred" employees would be laid off. Internal messages suggest more job cuts in Amazon Pay and marketing roles, as BI previously reported.
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Amazon has been in a major cost-cutting exercise since late 2022. The company has laid off about 27,000 employees since then.
Amazon acquired Audible, which provides audiobooks and podcasts, for roughly $300 million in 2008. The company has largely run as a separate entity until now, but things appear to be changing, according to a current employee who spoke to BI on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
Audible currently requires employees to be in the office only two times a week, unlike the three-day-a-week mandate at Amazon, while its enforcement of performance improvement plans has been much looser compared to the parent company, this person said.
Some managers believe they will be required to have 5% of their team in the lowest bracket of performance grades, under the goal of replacing them, following Amazon's broader "unregretted attrition rate" policy, this person added.
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Carrigan told employees on Thursday that the business is in "good shape" now, but it needs to get "leaner and more efficient."
Here's the full copy of Carrigan's email:
Today I have some difficult news to share with you. As we begin a new year, we've made the tough decision to reduce roles within our organization. I want to acknowledge the strong year we had in 2023, in which we delivered amazing listening experiences for our customers thanks to outstanding collaboration with creators and partners. Our business is in good shape, and that is because of the hard work of each and every one of you. However, to position us for continued success in the coming year and into the future, given the increasingly challenging landscape we face, we have to take this difficult decision now. As a company driven by our People Principles and in particular Activate Caring, we did not take this route without considerable thought. But getting leaner, and more efficient, is the way we will need to operate now — and in the foreseeable future — in order to continue delivering best-in-class audio storytelling to our customers around the world. A big part of what makes working at Audible so special is our many talented and dedicated employees who bring their passion to work each and every day. It's also what makes it even harder to say goodbye to people we care about. Approximately five percent of our workforce is impacted by this reduction. Those employees have already received a meeting invite for a conversation with their HR business partners and team leaders. I recognize the impact this will have on those transitioning out of Audible as well as all of you who remain. Thanks to all who are leaving us for their valuable contributions. Please be assured we will be supporting our departing colleagues as they look for their next opportunity. This is a hard moment. and many of you understandably feel uncertainty about the future. I want you to know that we're making these decisions to strengthen our business for the long term. We are well positioned to continue our momentum and sustain the global growth that will keep us the leader in audio storytelling. I will be sharing more about the road ahead, and answering your questions, at January's Global Allofus meeting.
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