On Tuesday, an executive in charge of Amazon’s video games division wrote in a memo to employees that the company is laying off approximately 100 workers.
Christoph Hartmann, Amazon Games’ vice president, wrote a memo to staffers on Tuesday stating that around 100 employees in Amazon’s video games division have been laid off. The layoffs affected employees in the Game Growth group, Prime Gaming, and Amazon’s San Diego gaming studio. Hartmann mentioned that some workers have been reassigned to other projects that align with the company’s strategic focus.
Christoph Hartmann wrote in a memo to employees on Tuesday that the company is committed to treating the impacted employees with empathy and respect. He added that the company would provide severance pay, health insurance benefits, outplacement services, and paid time to conduct their job search to support the affected employees.
Amazon is implementing cost-cutting measures across the company, which includes layoffs in its video games division. CEO Andy Jassy announced last month that Amazon would be laying off an additional 9,000 employees on top of a previous round of cuts that totaled over 18,000 people. The company has also put a hiring freeze in place for its corporate workforce and closed experimental projects like a telehealth service and a sidewalk delivery robot.
Anonymously speaking to the press, an employee affected by the layoffs revealed that on Tuesday afternoon, Amazon informed them of their termination by arranging a meeting with human resources.
Amazon Games, which was launched in 2013, has had difficulty creating a successful video game despite attracting renowned developers from companies like Sony Online Entertainment. In 2020, Amazon released its first high-budget game, Crucible, which it canceled just a few months after its release. The company then launched the PC game New World in 2021, which had some initial success. In an effort to capitalize on this, Amazon released the online action role-playing game Lost Ark in February.
Amazon’s video games division has also undergone significant changes in its leadership. Mike Frazzini, who played a pivotal role in launching Amazon’s game studios, resigned in March 2020. Earlier this year, John Smedley, who was in charge of Amazon Games’ San Diego studio, also left the company. While Amazon confirmed the layoffs and the memo, a spokesperson declined to provide any additional information.
