CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Amazon has announced plans to eliminate 9,000 employees, according to a letter sent to workers on Monday from company CEO Andy Jassy. The layoffs are not expected to affect the new distribution center in Clarksville, which is set to open sometime in 2024.
“I’m writing to share that we intend to eliminate about 9,000 more positions in the next few weeks—mostly in AWS, PXT, Advertising, and Twitch. This was a difficult decision, but one that we think is best for the company long term,” Jassy said in the letter.
The company eliminated several corporate IT positions last year, totaling around 18,000 all together. Jassy attributed the new layoffs to the uncertainty of the economy.
“For several years leading up to this one, most of our businesses added a significant amount of headcount. This made sense given what was happening in our businesses and the economy as a whole. However, given the uncertain economy in which we reside and the uncertainty that exists in the near future, we have chosen to be more streamlined in our costs and headcount. The overriding tenet of our annual planning this year was to be leaner while doing so in a way that enables us to still invest robustly in the key long-term customer experiences that we believe can meaningfully improve customers’ lives and Amazon as a whole.”
Buck Dellinger, president and CEO of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Economic Development Council, told Clarksville Now the announcement will not impact the Clarksville distribution center.
“Their announcement does not affect their distribution or operations in any of their facilities that are out delivering packages. We still expect that Amazon is going to be fully operational sometime in calendar year 2024,” he said. “Those layoffs that were announced yesterday had to do with their web services, their gaming system, and their customer experience system, but not about packages, delivery, and operations.”
The new 1 million-square-foot fulfillment center will have employees pick, pack and ship larger customer items, such as bulk paper goods, sports equipment, patio furniture and larger home goods and electronics.