Amazon Will Cut Hundreds of Jobs, Including at Game Streaming Firm Twitch

Amazon, the global tech giant, has made significant workforce reductions, affecting two key business units—its streaming platform Twitch and the film and television studios division. The company is trimming “several hundred” roles across Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, as confirmed by an internal memo obtained by CNN. Concurrently, Twitch, the video game streaming company owned by Amazon, announced a separate layoff of 500 workers as part of ongoing cost-cutting measures.

Mike Hopkins, Senior Vice President of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, addressed employees in an internal communication, stating that the company began reaching out to affected individuals on Wednesday. Hopkins mentioned that the decision is aligned with identifying areas for reducing or discontinuing investments while intensifying focus on content and product initiatives that yield the most significant impact.

In 2022, Amazon concluded an $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM, bolstering its presence in the entertainment sector and enhancing the content offerings of its streaming service, Amazon Prime Video.

Hopkins assured affected employees of support packages, encompassing separation payments, transitional benefits based on the country, and assistance for external job placement.

Twitch CEO Dan Clancy confirmed the layoffs within the gaming unit through messages to users and staff, describing it as an “incredibly difficult” decision. This announcement follows Twitch’s layoff of 400 employees in March of the previous year as part of broader cutbacks at Amazon.

Clancy stated that despite the cost-cutting efforts over the past year, the organization remained larger than necessary, considering the current size of its business. He emphasized that the Twitch business remains robust and disclosed that the platform paid out $1 billion to streamers through its revenue-sharing model in 2023.

The specifics regarding which areas of the company would be affected by the cuts were not immediately disclosed. Clancy mentioned that affected employees would be notified on Wednesday, and he committed to holding a livestream conversation on Twitch to address questions from users.

These layoffs at Twitch indicate persistent challenges, although Amazon does not provide separate financial results for the unit. The reduction in workforce follows the departure of several top executives from the company in late 2023. While the Twitch business remains strong, the organization is adjusting its size based on realistic expectations for the current business landscape. Last year saw several major tech firms conducting mass layoffs, with Amazon and Google making smaller, targeted cuts toward the end of 2023.