Amazon’s earlier decision to lay off 18,000 employees may have come back to bite the company, according to a leaked audio recording. As Gizmodo reported, the recording features an HR executive discussing a potential strategy for rehiring laid-off workers. Insider published the audio on Tuesday, stating that it was recorded during an internal town hall meeting held last month. An Amazon Web Services human resources VP named Ian Wilson was asked about the possibility of rehiring former Amazon employees, and reportedly responded:
“I do believe that one of the best things developmentally for any of us, including the individuals of our team that were impacted by the role reductions, is the experience and the time they’ve had at Amazon. So one thing we’ve been really clear about, so many of those folks are eligible to rehire…How do we really proactively extend an invitation to any of those Amazonians that are ready to return and resume their career with us? How do we make those opportunities available?”
Amazon, as part of its cost-cutting exercise, had announced laying off 18,000 of its employees which many claims dented its image of being the best employer on earth. It has also been the biggest layoff the company has ever resorted to in its history. Apart from this, it has also been announcing the closure of several of its physical stores and other Amazon Fresh outlets in order to rein in expenditure and boost revenue.
However, in a sharp change in its strategy, the retail giant seems eager to rehire its former employees though nothing is set in stone at the moment. All of this comes on the back of registering explosive growth during the pandemic which was also when the company had started to recruit actively. However, holding on to the workforce has proved to be a challenge for the company what with the rising global inflation that has constrained individual spending power in most parts of the world.
That said, Amazon re-hiring those it has expelled earlier will perhaps be the best thing that such employees may look forward to though there is absolutely no surety things are going to pan out that way in the coming weeks and months. Stay tuned.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.
