Amazon Cuts Jobs at Twitch, MGM, and Prime Video

Amazon Plans Significant Job Cuts at Twitch, Prime Video, and MGM Studios

Over 500 Twitch employees, constituting a third of the streamer’s workforce, are expected to be laid off, according to a note from CEO Dan Clancy.

Amazon also announced that several hundred employees at Prime Video and the film studio MGM will lose their jobs this week.

Despite substantial profits, the tech giant laid off over 27,000 staff members in 2023.

Twitch, initially created for gamers to share and watch video gameplay online, was acquired by Amazon in 2014 for $970 million (£585 million at the time).

In an email to employees, Mr. Clancy stated that the company is taking the “painful step to reduce our headcount” to “build a more sustainable business.”

He also mentioned that the company paid out $1 billion to streamers in 2023 but had “conservative predictions of how we expect to grow in the future.”

Amazon reported a profit of $9.9 billion in July to September, a significant increase from $2.9 billion in the same period in 2022.

In an email to staff at Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, Senior Vice President Mike Hopkins wrote: “We’ve identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas intensifying our investments and concentrating on content and product initiatives with the greatest impact.”

Mr. Hopkins expressed that it was a “tough decision to make.”

The email outlined that job losses would impact employees in the US and globally.

Amazon acquired the century-old MGM Studios for $8.45 billion in 2021.

In December, the company announced plans to introduce ads on Prime Video starting from February 5, 2024.

These reductions at Amazon mark the latest in a series of job cuts in the tech sector, which experienced rapid expansion during the pandemic before contracting as enthusiasm waned.

According to US career consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the tech sector saw 168,032 job cuts in 2023, reflecting a 73% increase compared to 2022.