Amazon begins laying off employees

San Francisco, US – Amazon confirmed that it is laying off staff, after days of rumors that the e-commerce behemoth would become the latest tech giant to unleash a large-scale redundancy plan amid a souring economic environment.

"The economy remains in a challenging spot and we've hired rapidly the last several years," wrote chief executive Andy Jassy

in an internal memo published on the Amazon website.

US media have previously reported that the platform and its various branches will lay off about 10,000 employees.

Jassy did not confirm the figure, but he said that the process had begun and would continue early next year. The first teams affected were those dealing with the brand's electronic devices such as Kindle e-readers. Physi

cal shops will also be impacted.