Report: Amazon Lays Off About Half The Staff Of Amp

Cutbacks

BUSINESS INSIDER is reporting that AMAZON has laid off about 150 employees -- approximately half the staff -- of its AMP social audio/live radio division on FRIDAY (10/28). The firings came the day after the company's earnings release for third quarter showed weak performance and projections.

The report quoted spokesperson REBECCA SILVERSTEIN as saying, "At AMAZON, we think big, experiment, and invest in new ideas to delight customers. We also continually evaluate the progress and potential of our products and services to deliver customer value, and we regularly make adjustments based on those assessments. Following a recent review, we've made the decision to consolidate a few teams so we can focus on the growth and scaling of AMP."

AMAZON has instituted a hiring freeze for its retail division, and CFO BRIAN OLSAVSKY said on the company's earnings conference call on THURSDAY that the company is looking for savings with a reduction in staffing and said that the company will be "winding down products and services where we believe our resources are better spent elsewhere."

AMP had its public launch earlier this year and allows users to create their own streaming live radio-style shows using songs from the AMAZON MUSIC library; several celebrities and former radio hosts are creating shows for the service.

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