Companies across the globe have been trimming their workforce amid concerns about an economic slowdown. The job cuts have also started at e-commerce company Amazon which has already laid off several employees across the globe including India. The company plans to lay off around 1,000 employees in India as part of its biggest retrenchment exercise. As affected employees have been receiving the dreaded e-mails, they have been sharing their experiences on social media.
Impacted by the job cut, a software engineer who had worked for Amazon for five years, was laid off on January 11. The employee who was a senior development engineer at Amazon took to LinkedIn to share his experience working for the company and asked people to help him find new opportunities. Sadly, he lost his job only months after he lost his father.
"Year 2022 has been the most challenging year of my life. First I lost my father, after he struggled 2 to 3 months in ICU, due to which I was off from work for almost 4 months. Now on Jan 11, I am impacted by the recent layoffs done by Amazon," the employee wrote in the LinkedIn post, narrating his ordeal.
However, he also wrote that the 5-year stint at Amazon had been the most wonderful time of his job life. ''I have enjoyed every bit of it working with some of the smartest folks in the industry, and learnt great lessons of corporate life. I got the opportunity to work on large-scale, customer-facing, complex and innovative design problems. I am thankful of everyone who supported me during this time,'' he added.
He also tried to motivate others who were going through the same situation and urged them to stay positive. He also requested people connect him with potential opportunities.
''For the folks who are in the same boat, while this is tough time, stay positive, stay motivated. These small interruptions in life won't stop from moving forward, fight back and come back stronger. I need a little help from you, please spread the word around so that I get the right opportunity,'' the post read further.
Amazon has 1 lakh employees in India and the decision will impact 1 per cent of staff in the country. The impacted employees will be given severance pay, health benefits, and other necessary support. The company cited an "uncertain economy" and the fact that the online retail giant had "hired rapidly" during the pandemic, as reasons behind the mass lay-offs.
CEO Andy Jassy said the company's leadership was "deeply aware that these role eliminations are difficult for people, and we don't take these decisions lightly.'' "We are working to support those who are affected and are providing packages that include a separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and external job placement support," he said.