A mazon will eliminate hundreds of roles across the Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios teams.

The cuts were announced in a staff memo from Mike Hopkins, SVP of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios on Wednesday morning (Jan. 10), which was provided to Playback Daily by Amazon.

In the memo, Hopkins noted Amazon has “identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact,” leading to the elimination of “several hundred roles across the Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios organization.”

The layoffs began today, with impacted employees “in the Americas” said to be notified throughout the morning, pacific time. Representatives at Amazon could not comment on whether any of the job cuts will impact its Canadian workforce.

Employees in other regions are expected to be notified by the end of the week, added Hopkins. Termination packages include separation payments, transitional benefits, and external job placement support.

“This is a difficult decision to make and one that my leadership team and I do not take lightly,” read the memo. “Our prioritization of initiatives that we know will move the needle, along with our continued investments in programming, marketing and product, positions our business for an even stronger future.”

Image courtesy of Prime Video