Last Wednesday (10), the Amazon announced a significant staff reduction that affected two of its divisions: the streaming platform Twitch and the film and television studios, Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios.
The company is eliminating “several hundred” positions in its Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios divisions, according to an internal statement shared with CNN.
Simultaneously, the Twitchowned by Amazon, announced the layoff of 500 employees as part of a broader cost-cutting strategy.
Layoffs took place at Twitch – Image: Shutterstock/Reproduction
Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Amazon MGM Studios and Prime Video, explained in a corporate statement that the company began notifying terminated employees on Wednesday.
“We identify opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas, while increasing our investment and focusing on content and product initiatives that deliver greater impact”, explains Hopkins.
Landscape at Twitch and Amazon’s entertainment divisions
Twitch CEO Dan Clancy confirmed the layoffs, describing the decision as “incredibly difficult.”
He also highlighted that, over the last year, the company has taken steps to build a more sustainable business.
However, despite efforts towards efficiency, it has become apparent that the organization is still larger than necessary for the current size of the business.
This is not the first wave of cuts, as Twitch laid off 400 employees in March last year (2023) as part of broader measures within Amazon.
The layoffs at the game streaming platform point to ongoing challenges, although Amazon has not released specific results for Twitch.
The announcement follows the departures of several high-ranking executives from the company at the end of 2023. Clancy highlighted that Twitch distributed $1 billion to streamers through its revenue share model in 2023.
The layoffs at Amazon reflect broader trends in the technology sector, where several large companies have made mass cuts over the past year to adjust to the new post-pandemic reality.
While such layoffs slowed in the second half of 2023, some companies, including Amazon and Google, continued to make targeted adjustments later in the year.
Other technology corporations, such as SpotifyEtsy and Dataminr, also made cuts, demonstrating the persistent challenges in the constantly evolving business environment.
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