Amazon-owned Audible lays off over 100 employees

San Francisco, Jan 12

Amazon-owned audiobook and podcast division Audible is laying off 5 per cent of its staff, more than 100 employees, as part of overall job cuts at the e-commerce giant.

After laying off hundreds of employees at Twitch, Prime Video and MGM Studios this week, Amazon is also reducing staff at Audible, reports Variety.

According to an internal memo by Audible CEO Bob Corrigan, the job cuts were made “to position us for continued success in the coming year and into the future, given the increasingly challenging landscape we face”.

The layoffs did not affect Audible’s content teams, the report said late on Thursday.

“We did not take this route without considerable thought. But getting leaner and more efficient is the way we will need to operate now -- and in the foreseeable future -- in order to continue delivering best-in-class audio storytelling to our customers around the world,” said the Audible CEO.

Audible had a “strong year” in 2023 and the business “is in good shape”.

Amazon acquired Audible in 2008 in a deal worth about $300 million. The Audible catalog comprises more than 850,000 titles.

Meanwhile, Amazon is also laying off several hundreds of employees at Prime Video and MGM Studios.

Mike Hopkins, Senior Vice President of the division, announced the cuts in an email, saying that the reason for the reduction is to "reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact", reported TechCrunch.

The company has also started to notify the affected workers in the US and will inform most other regions this week.

Amazon-owned live game streaming platform Twitch was also reportedly laying off 35 per cent of its workforce, or about 500 employees.

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