Amazon plans to lay off thousands of employees, reports The New York Times

( Business) — Amazon plans to lay off about 10,000 employees with corporate and tech jobs, reported the newspaper The New York Times this Monday, citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter.

The job cuts could begin this week and will likely include workers in areas of Amazon devices (such as its Alexa voice assistant), as well as people in its retail and human resources divisions, according to the report. “The total number of layoffs remains uncertain,” the report stated.

Amazon did not immediately respond to Business’s request for comment on Monday. has not been able to independently confirm the report. The Wall Street Journal also reported this Monday that the company is ready to lay off thousands of workersciting a person familiar with the matter.

With this news, Amazon would join other technology companies which have announced significant layoffs in recent weeks, amid broad economic uncertainty and a sharp slowdown in demand that many tech giants experienced during the pandemic that led them to increase their staff. Last week, Facebook parent Meta announced it was laying off 11,000 employees.

Earlier this month, Amazon said that would freeze corporate hiring “for the next few months,” on the grounds of economic uncertainty and “how many people have we hired” in recent years. Amazon rapidly increased the number of workers as the pandemic shifted consumer habits and spending toward e-commerce. However, in his most recent earnings reportthe company forecast its revenue for the holiday quarter to be lower than analysts had expected.

Amazon shares have fallen more than 40% in 2022 so far, amid a broader market crash.

The news about the possible layoffs comes at a crucial time for the retail industry, ahead of the holiday shopping season. Despite recession fears and inflationary pressures, the National Retail Federation forecasts a 6% to 8% increase in sales over last year during the holiday shopping months.

Last month, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos tweeted about the possibility of an impending recession, writing: “The odds in this economy tell you to batten down the hatches.” In an interview with ‘s Chloe Melas on Saturday, Bezos said the tips were intended for both business owners and consumers. “Take a little risk off the table,” he said. “Just a little bit of risk reduction could make a difference.”