Amid Huge Profits, Amazon To Eliminate "Several Hundred" Jobs At Prime Video And MGM

Amazon on Wednesday announced that it will lay off "several hundred" people across its Prime Video and MGM Studios film and TV divisions. The company is eliminating jobs as it makes massive profits.

Amazon boss Mike Hopkins confirmed the cuts in a memo to staff (via Variety), informing workers that Amazon is taking these steps to "prioritize our investments for the long-term success of our business." After conducting a review of "nearly every aspect" of its business, Amazon decided it would cut jobs. Affected staffers will receive severance packages and other "transitional benefits," as well as job placement support.

Prime Video is known for its popular shows like The Boys and Reacher, while the MGM division--which Amazon acquired for $8.45 billion--is best known for the James Bond series.

These are just the latest layoffs at Amazon, as the company also made dramatic cuts to its Twitch division this week. Additionally, Amazon cut jobs at its video game division and eliminated jobs at its newspaper, The Washington Post.

In 2023, Amazon cut more than 25,000 jobs globally. This is just the latest round of cuts for Prime Video and MGM specifically, as Amazon also eliminated jobs there in early 2023.

Later this month, Amazon will introduce ads to its paid Prime Video membership, and the only way to bypass them is to spend another $3 per month.

Amazon is laying off people and increasing streaming costs to consumers as the company makes gigantic profits. For the latest quarter, Amazon saw net sales increase 13% to $143.1 billion with profit exploding from $2.9 billion to $9.9 billion. Amazon had more than $64 billion in cash on hand at the end of its latest quarter. At the time, Amazon said it was in the "best position" it's ever been.