Amazon is once again axing its workforce. Following the dismissal of thousands of employees last year, the e-commerce giant has revealed a new round of job cuts impacting 'several hundred' employees within its streaming and studio operations, specifically in its Prime Video and MGM Studios division. 

In an internal memo circulated to Amazon employees on Wednesday, Mike Hopkins, the SVP of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, conveyed that the company has conducted thorough reviews, pinpointing areas where it can trim or cease investments to enhance platform improvements, reported India Today. 

Consequently, the reduction in workforce is part of the company's restructuring efforts aimed at optimising the business. "Throughout the past year, we've looked at nearly every aspect of our business with an eye towards improving our ability to deliver even more breakthrough movies, TV shows, and live sports in a personalised, easy to use entertainment experience for our global customers," read the memo by Hopkins. 

"As a result, we've identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact. As a result of these decisions, we will be eliminating several hundred roles across the Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios organisation,” he added. 

Although Amazon has not disclosed the precise number of employees affected by this round of layoffs, the company informed IndieWire that the impact would be on a relatively small percentage of Hopkins' team. 

Notably, Amazon acquired MGM for $8.5 billion in 2022. The company attributes the latest layoffs to challenges lingering from that acquisition, stating that the ongoing impact of the deal played a role in the decision. 

The most recent round of Amazon layoffs coincides with an announcement from its subsidiary, Twitch, revealing plans to lay off approximately 35% of its workforce, affecting around 500 employees. 

Twitch CEO Dan Clancy conveyed this challenging decision to staff, emphasising its painful nature. In March 2023, Twitch had already reduced its workforce by 400 as part of a broader downsizing at Amazon, its parent company. 

The platform also disclosed its exit from South Korea the previous month, citing expensive network charges. Regarding the overall layoffs at Amazon, the tech giant shed over 27,000 jobs last year, aligning with the wave of layoffs across Silicon Valley and global offices.