At Amazon, the wave of staff reductions continues. In addition to the recent layoffs of 18,000 employees, which were followed by another 9,000 layoffs, “just over” 100 gaming division employees will now be out of a job. This comes from an internal memo from Amazon’s vice president of gaming, Christoph Hartmann.

The cuts will affect Prime Gaming, Game Growth and the Amazon Games studio in San Diego. In addition, Amazon reassigns employees to projects that align with its strategic purpose, the executive says. According to available information, Amazon Games had more than 1,000 employees. Thus, we are talking about a reduction of approximately 10% of the staff.

However, Hartmann said the teams in Irvine (developing the online RPG New World) and Montreal (working on an unannounced project) will continue to grow. Amazon’s publishing efforts will also expand. Laid-off employees have already been notified and will receive severance pay, sick pay and paid time off to look for a new job.

The company did not specify the reasons for the layoffs. In his memo, Hartmann said the cuts came as Amazon aligned its projects with its “long-term goals.”

So far, Amazon’s gaming efforts have not been successful. Currently, the company only offers the game New World, the launch of which was accompanied by problems and transfers. The free-to-play shooter Crucible has been shut down months after its closed beta began. John Smedley, a Sony Online Entertainment veteran who ran Amazon Games’ San Diego studio for six years, said in January that he would leave the company after a transition period.

Source: Engedget