Amazon lays off hundreds of employees at Prime Video and its movie studios

Amazon has laid off hundreds of employees at its streaming service

https://www.theinformation.com/articles/amazon-to-lay-off-several-hundred-prime-video-studios-employees

Amazon Prime Video and MGM Studios laid off hundreds of employees | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/10/amazon-prime-video-and-mgm-studios-laid-off-hundreds-of-employees/

Mike Hopkins, vice president of Amazon's Prime Video division, announced in an email sent to employees that he plans to lay off Prime Video and MGM Studios employees. Hopkins explained that the reason for the layoffs was 'to increase investment and focus on content and product initiatives while reducing or canceling investments in specific areas.'

Amazon has already started notifying employees who will be laid off, and plans to notify employees in other regions by the second weekend of January 2024. Employees who are laid off will be provided with severance pay, transition allowances, and support for relocating outside the company.

'By prioritizing initiatives that we know will make a big difference, along with continued investment in programming, marketing, and products, our business is poised for an even stronger future,' said Hopkins. .

Amazon will acquire MGM Studios in 2022 for $8.5 billion. Amazon is producing original works for exclusive distribution on Prime Video or licensing to other streaming services, and after acquiring MGM Studios, it launched Amazon MGM Studios Distribution.

Amazon laid off more than 18,000 people in January 2023, the largest number in history, and additionally laid off more than 9,000 employees in March. In addition, in November, the company also implemented layoffs in its Alexa and Gaming divisions. TechCrunch, an overseas media outlet, points out that the number of employees fired by Amazon from the end of 2022 to 2023 will be 8% of the total.

Amazon lays off more than 180 employees in the game department, reveals that it will focus on improving benefits for Prime members and game publishing - GIGAZINE

In addition, Amazon has announced that it will add advertising from January 29, 2024 in order to increase revenue on Prime Video.

Amazon Prime Video will start displaying ads unless you pay an additional fee from January 2024 - GIGAZINE