Thursday 27 April 2023

Deadline: Layoffs Underway At Amazon Studios & Prime Video, Handful Of Creative Executives Impacted

Story from Deadline:

The string of media layoffs continues. Amazon is the latest company to trim its ranks with a round of staff reductions across Amazon Studios and Prime Video. About 100 of the divisions’ 7,000 employees are impacted.

The most notable name of a content executive affected by today’s layoffs to emerge so far is Tracey Lentz, Amazon Studios’ Head of Creative, Unscripted TV. Over the past year, Amazon Studios has been consolidating its unscripted operations across Amazon Studios and Freevee under Lauren Anderson.

At least one scripted executive, believed to be at a junior level, also is departing. Overall, the number of layoffs on the content side is relatively small, with mostly junior staffers, including former MGM and Orion employees, are believed to be impacted.

“Like many businesses, we have been closely monitoring economic conditions and our organizational needs, and have made the decision to adjust resources,” an Amazon spokesperson said. “As a result, a small number of roles will be eliminated on some teams. We will be supporting impacted employees through this transition and thank them for the work they have done on behalf of our customers.”

The tech sector has been gripped by layoffs for the past several months amid an uncertain economic outlook. Amazon Studios and Prime Video’s parent company Amazon has gone through three major rounds of workforce cuts, starting with one in November, which was followed by 18,000 layoffs in January and another 9,000 in March.

Disney is currently in the midst of eliminating 7,000 jobs.

© 2023 Deadline Hollywood, LLC.