Amazon: The technology giant is eliminating hundreds of jobs in its cloud computing unit

Tech giant Amazon has announced job cuts, affecting hundreds of employees in its cloud computing business.

The company changed its strategy with Amazon Fresh physical stores, which launched in 2020.

On Tuesday, it said it would remove the self-checkout system called Just Walk Out from all stores.

The company said the recent job cuts affect several hundred roles in global sales, marketing and services and a few hundred roles on the physical store technology team.

An AWS spokesperson told the BBC: “These decisions are difficult but necessary as we continue to invest, deploy and optimize resources to deliver innovation to our customers.”

The company also said “it will continue to hire and grow, especially in core areas of our business,” adding that there are thousands of jobs available, and that it is working to find internal opportunities for employees whose roles have been affected.

Amazon said the cuts will be across its operations around the world, although the majority of AWS roles are based in its home city of Seattle.

The company said US-based employees will receive pay and benefits for at least 60 days, help find another job and receive transitional health benefits. They will also be eligible for severance pay.

As of the end of last year, Amazon had more than 1.5 million full- and part-time employees, excluding contractors and temporary employees.

Amazon has been focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) through AWS, including investing in safety and research startup Anthropic, last month.

Technology giants, including Microsoft, which invested in ChatGPT, are competing to develop their artificial intelligence capabilities.

According to the US career consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the technology sector will cut 168,032 jobs in 2023 – an increase of 73% compared to 2022.