Audible, the audiobook company owned by Amazon, is set to lay off 5% of its workforce, as revealed in a leaked memo obtained by Business Insider. In the memo, Audible CEO Bob Carrigan commended the staff for a successful 2023 and assured them of the company’s stability. However, due to the increasingly challenging landscape, the company has decided to make cuts. This trend of layoffs is not unique to Audible, as various tech companies have been facing ongoing layoffs since 2022.
Audible has not responded to requests for comment regarding the layoffs. Amazon, on the other hand, has been aggressively reducing its workforce over the past year. In 2023 alone, the company laid off around 27,000 employees across multiple departments, including AWS, Twitch, and advertising. Just this week, Twitch, which was acquired by Amazon in 2014 for approximately $1 billion, laid off 500 employees. Additionally, Amazon’s MGM Studios and Prime Video recently let go of several hundred employees. These developments raise concerns about the future of Amazon’s entertainment products.
It is worth noting that all of these organizations at Amazon, including Twitch, MGM Studios, and Audible, were acquired through various acquisitions. Most notably, Amazon spent $8.5 billion in 2022 to acquire MGM, bringing a vast library of films and TV shows to its Prime Video streaming service. Despite Twitch’s immense popularity, the costs associated with operating a large livestreaming platform have prevented it from becoming profitable. As for MGM and Prime Video, senior vice president Mike Hopkins stated that the division is making cuts to reallocate resources towards content and product initiatives that have the most impact.
While these layoffs may be concerning, it is important to remember that companies often undergo restructuring and adjustments to adapt to changing market conditions.