© Reuters. The Amazon logo is seen at the company’s logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, January 5, 2023. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
By Greg Bensinger
(Reuters) -Amazon.com has cut about 180 jobs in its gaming division, at least the second round of cuts in less than a week, as part of a broader restructuring, according to an email seen on Monday by Reuters.
“After our initial restructuring in April, it became clear that we needed to focus our resources even more on the areas that are growing and have the greatest potential to drive our business,” according to the Nov. 13 email from Christoph Hartmann, vice president. president of Amazon (NASDAQ:) Games.
The company began informing employees Monday morning that their roles had been eliminated. It represents the second cut to the division this year.
Last week, Amazon also began cutting jobs in its music and podcast streaming division, according to people familiar with the matter. It also eliminated a very small number of jobs in its human resources unit known as People Experience and technology, or PXT, according to sources.
The gaming division offers free streaming versions of many video games such as Doom and Roblox, as well as some Twitch channels. The company is focusing on free games known as Prime Gaming, which is offered as a benefit within the annual $139 Prime membership that also includes free shipping and free video streaming, Hartmann said.
“We’ve listened to our customers and know that offering free games every month is what they want most, so we’re refining our Prime benefit to increase our focus there,” he said.
In April, Amazon cut about 100 jobs in the gaming unit.
