Amazon lays off several hundred workers in cloud computing unit

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Amazon on Wednesday said that it is laying off several hundred workers in its cloud computing unit, Amazon Web Services (AWS).

AWS, a subsidiary of Amazon that provides on-demand cloud computing platforms, cut a few hundred roles in its sales, marketing, global services division and physical stores technology team, according to Reuters.

An AWS spokesperson told Reuters that the cuts were implemented after it "identified a few targeted areas" that it needed to "streamline."

FOX Business reached out to Amazon for comment.

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Amazon has continued to massively trim down its headcount since CEO Andy Jassy told employees that the company had to cut costs after the industry rapidly overhired during the pandemic.

Attendees walk through an expo hall at AWS re:Invent 2023, a conference hosted by Amazon Web Services, at The Venetian Las Vegas on Nov. 28, 2023. (Noah Berger/Getty Images for Amazon Web Services / Getty Images)

Over the past two years, the company cut thousands of jobs across several divisions, including its devices and books businesses; the Amazon Stores division, which encompasses its e-commerce business as well as the company’s brick-and-mortar stores; and its PXT organizations that handle human resources and other functions.

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In January, its media division took a hit. Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, informed staff in an internal memo that the organization would be "eliminating several hundred roles" as the company continued to identify opportunities to "reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas."

Amazon Web Services branding is seen during day one of Web Summit Rio 2023 at Riocentro in Rio de Janeiro. (Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile for Web Summit Rio via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Around the same time, Amazon's Twitch service announced its own "difficult update," sharing on its blog an email from CEO Dan Clancy to employees informing them that the company would slash its headcount by 35% to around 500 people.

Amazon employs a global workforce of 1.5 million people.

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In February, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the layoffs hitting the tech industry aren't due to the growth of artificial intelligence.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
AMZN	AMAZON.COM INC.	178.86	+3.86	+2.21%

It started as the result of companies trying to navigate the e-commerce boom during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, they're realizing they can be more efficient as a leaner organization, Zuckerberg said during a conversation on the "Morning Brew Daily" podcast.

FOX Business' Breck Dumas contributed to this report.