Amazon to cut more jobs; local Prime Air drone delivery impacts unclear

KBTX News 3 at Ten(Recurring)
Published: Mar. 22, 2023 at 10:45 PM CDT
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) - According to a recent report by The Associated Press, Amazon is set to cut 9,000 jobs in the coming weeks, making it the second-largest layoff in the company’s history.

The move follows an earlier round of layoffs that began in November and impacted more than 18,000 employees.

Reports indicate that the upcoming job cuts will affect profitable areas of the company, including its cloud computing division and advertising operations.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced the job cuts in a memo to staff on Monday. The affected employees will be from the web services, people experience and technology solutions, advertising, and Twitch game streaming platform divisions.

Amazon Prime Air, a service to deliver products by drone, began deliveries in College Station last year.

It’s estimated that Prime Air has just over 1,400 customers in its two test markets in College Station and Lockeford, California.

Meanwhile, sources familiar with Prime Air, Amazon’s drone delivery service, told CNBC that the service has experienced some setbacks due to what they call “friction” between the company and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

It remains unclear whether local Amazon services will be affected by the job cuts.

KBTX reached out to Amazon to inquire about the status of the drone delivery services introduced last year.

According to Paul Butler, an Amazon spokesperson, the company has stated that its drone delivery service, Prime Air, is presently operational and making deliveries to a select group of customers. The statement also said Amazon is making efforts to gradually broaden its delivery reach to more customers over time. Additionally, Amazon officials have indicated that they hope to invite KBTX to see the facility in action in the coming weeks.