Amazon jumps after report says it's laying off hundreds of workers (AMZN)
Reuters/Noah Berger
Amazon's stock jumped after a Seattle Times report said the ecommerce behemoth is planning to lay off hundreds of employees, primarily in its retail division.
The layoffs are being conducted amid the company's expansion plans that includes starting up a new headquarters.
Shares of Amazon rose 3.32% to $1,384 per share on Monday following a Seattle Times report suggesting the ecommerce behemoth plans to layoff hundreds of workers, mostly in its consumer retail division. Monday's big gain has the retailer well ahead of the benchmark S&P 500, which trades up 1.56%.
Though an exact number of layoffs was not disclosed, a person familiar with the matter told the Times that the number will be "several hundreds." Additionally, hundreds more could possibly be reassigned within the company.
"As part of our annual planning process, we are making head count adjustments across the company — small reductions in a couple of places and aggressive hiring in many others," the company told the Seattle Times. "For affected employees, we work to find roles in the areas where we are hiring."
The cuts come amid the company's rapid expansion as it plans to build a new headquarters in a select US city. It plans to hire or move over 50,000 employees to this new destination.
Amazon announced on Friday plans to launch its own shipping business, and a pilot program for same-day delivery service for grocery items from Whole Foods stores.
Amazon's stock was up 16.75% for the year.
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