Layoffs Begin At Amazon Studios, Prime Video; At Least 2 Executives To Be Affected

Amazon is laying off about 100 employees from its entertainment divisions, Amazon Studios and Prime Video, multiple outlets reported Thursday. At least two executives will be affected by the latest round of layoffs.

It will mostly affect junior staffers, but at least one scripted executive who is believed to be at a junior level, as well as Amazon Studios' head of creative (unscripted division) Tracey Lentz, will also be laid off, Deadline reported.

The jobs eliminated also include roles at its operations and international units, and the staff have already been notified of their employment status, reported Business Insider.

"Like many businesses, we have been closely monitoring economic conditions and our organizational needs, and have made the decision to adjust resources. As a result, a small number of roles will be eliminated on some teams," an Amazon spokesperson told Deadline, adding the company will provide the necessary support to assist affected employees.

Amazon Studios CEO Jennifer Salke has reportedly reorganized her executive team numerous times in the past. The multiple reorganization measures created confusion among showrunners and also reportedly triggered some internal tensions.

Earlier this week, employees at Amazon Studios and Prime Video, who were previously unscathed by multiple rounds of job cuts, were speculating their jobs would be hit next. It was also speculated that MGM, the century-old studio that Amazon acquired last year, would be affected by the latest round of layoffs.

A day before layoffs at Amazon's entertainment department started, the company started eliminating some positions in its cloud computing and human resources units.

"Given this rapid growth, as well as the overall business macroeconomic climate, it is critical that we focus on identifying and putting our resources behind our top priorities," Amazon Web Service (AWS) CEO Adam Selipsky said Wednesday.

Beth Galetti, head of Amazon's People Experience and Technology Solutions (PXT Solutions), also confirmed this in a memo to employees.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy last month said the company was looking to eliminate about 9,000 more jobs across different departments and that most of the job cuts would be in the AWS, PXT, Advertising and Twitch units. "This was a difficult decision, but one that we think is best for the company long term," he said at the time.

The advertising unit was hit by layoffs last month itself. Amazon's senior VP of advertising, Paul Kotas, told employees that the company's goal of prioritizing resources resulted in role eliminations.

Last month's layoffs announcement was on top of the thousands of jobs eliminated in different units earlier this year.

In January, Jassy said "just over 18,000 roles" would be eliminated in several divisions, but majority of them would be in PXT groups and Amazon Stores. The CEO noted management was "deeply aware" of how the decisions would affect the lives of employees and assured the affected workers would receive severance pay, health insurance benefits and career support.

Amazon's entertainment arm isn't the only company in media and entertainment that hat cut its workforce this week.

Disney is currently implementing layoffs that CEO Bob Iger previously said would affect around 7,000 workers. Layoffs also hit ABC News and ESPN.

The layoffs at Amazon Studios, Prime Video and Disney come amid fears of a looming writers' strike as Hollywood writers argue their work prospects are affected by the rise in streaming services.