Hundreds impacted as Amazon restructure hits Prime Video and MGM Studios
“This is a difficult decision to make and one that my leadership team and I do not take lightly."
Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon's MGM Studios, has confirmed that a significant workforce reduction is on the horizon, affecting several hundred employees, as originally reported by Adweek.
This comes as a parallel development affecting Amazon's video sector was revealed earlier this week. Bloomberg reported on a similar downsizing at Twitch amid financial concerns and executive departures.
Chief executive officer of Amazon-owned Twitch Dan Clancy also announced the layoffs this week, which will see a cut of approximately 500 employees, roughly 35% of its workforce.
See also: Twitch to cut a third of staff, Alan Jones bids for former Seven boss, Amazon’s $5B ad push
Hopkins acknowledged in the memo, circulated earlier this week, that Amazon has strategically identified areas for streamlining and discontinuing certain investments. Simultaneously, the company plans to intensify its focus on high-impact sectors, resulting in the "eliminating several hundred roles across the Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios organisation."
“This is a difficult decision to make and one that my leadership team and I do not take lightly,” Hopkins expressed. “It is hard to say goodbye to talented Amazonians who’ve made meaningful contributions on behalf of our customers, team and business. Thank you for your dedication and work.”
According to Adweek, Hopkins defended the company's commitment to prioritising initiatives that "move the needle," while also maintaining investments in programming, marketing, and products to fortify the business for an “even stronger future.”
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Clancy discussed in a blog post on Wednesday morning, "Over the last year, we’ve been working to build a more sustainable business so that Twitch will be here for the long run and throughout the year we have cut costs and made many decisions to be more efficient.
“Unfortunately, despite these efforts, it has become clear that our organisation is still meaningfully larger than it needs to be given the size of our business.”
The distribution of job cuts between Prime Video and MGM Studios remains undisclosed.
Mediaweek has reached out to Amazon for comment.
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Top Image: Mike Hopkins
