Amazon chief Andy Jassy made that call in a letter he sent to workers, also posted on the company’s website, explaining that stores operated by the group and human resources would be the main affected.

Since November, the American press has reported that the company intends to lay off about 10,000 workers. Amazon confirmed the job cancellations without confirming how many.

On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the cuts would cover 17,000 employees.

In the now-released letter, Jassy said he chose to announce the number in question ahead of schedule, after the information leaked.

The leader states that covered workers “or their representatives, if any, in Europe” will be contacted by the company from January 18.

The distribution group has recruited heavily during the pandemic to respond to high demand, doubling its number of employees worldwide between early 2020 and early 2022.

At the end of September, Amazon had 1.54 million workers worldwide, not including seasonal workers hired during peak periods, such as Christmas and the end of the year.

“Amazon has weathered difficult and uncertain economic situations in the past, and we will continue to do so,” said the North American group leader.

This job elimination program is one of the most important programs announced recently in the US technology sector.

In a more difficult context globally for tech companies, Amazon saw its net profit drop 9% in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the same period a year earlier. The annual results will be announced on the 1st of February.

In the technology sector, Meta, which controls Facebook, announced in November that it would cut 11,000 jobs, or 13% of its total workforce.

Twitter, which was bought by Elon Musk in October, has laid off about half of its 7,500 employees.

North American computer group Salesforce announced Wednesday that it will lay off about 10% of its employees, just under 8,000 jobs.