LAST UPDATE | 28 Jan

AMAZON HAS SAID it is cutting 16,000 jobs worldwide as part of a restructuring announced in October, when the e-commerce giant flagged plans to cut its workforce by 14,000 posts.

The tech giant employs around 6,000 people in Ireland between corporate offices, operations sites, data centres and a customer service centre.

A Department spokesperson confirmed that the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke, today received a notification of proposed collective redundancies from Amazon Ireland.

The company opened its first Irish office in 2004 and now has six sites in Ireland, including the Amazon Fulfilment Centre in Baldonnell Business Park in Dublin, Ireland

Amazon senior vice president Beth Galetti said today that the job cuts are aimed at “reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy”.

Last October it was reported that roughly 30,000 job cuts were planned, impacting nearly 10 percent of the 350,000 office jobs at Amazon, without affecting the distribution and warehouse workers that make up the bulk of its 1.5 million employees.

At the time the company refused to comment on the reports, which said they came amid increased investments in artificial intelligence.

In October the Department of Enterprise said that it had received a collective redundancy notification from Amazon.

Collective redundancies are situations where, during any period of 30 consecutive days, the number of redundancies in a company of 300 or more staff in Ireland is at least 30.

It means that at least 30 staff cuts in Ireland are planned, with RTÉ reporting that 150 jobs are at risk here.

Amazon did not give any breakdown of the latest job cuts, saying only that “every team will continue to evaluate the ownership, speed, and capacity to invent for customers, and make adjustments as appropriate”.

Labour Enterprise spokesperson George Lawlor said that workers in Ireland “cannot be left in limbo” and called on Amazon to “engage openly with staff and their representatives”.

“My thoughts today are with every Amazon worker who has heard this news and with their families,” said Lawlor.

“Workers here deserve straight answers about what this decision means for them.

“Staff should not have to rely on rumours, leaks or anxious guesswork to understand their future. It must communicate directly with employees in Ireland.”

He added that workers “deserve stability at work, not a cloud hanging over them for months”.

Elsewhere, Social Democrats enterprise spokesperson Sinéad Gibney said she has written to Enterprise Minister Peter Burke to ask “what steps his Department and the Industrial Development Agency will take” to ensure those faced with redundancy are provided with adequate supports.

“When a mammoth multinational announces radical measures such as these, it’s easy for some to forget that behind the numbers are real people,” said Gibney.

“Clarity must immediately be sought from Amazon on whether its Irish operation will be scaled back.”

She added that it is “well documented that Amazon has a consistent record of poor workers’ rights” and that the Department must not ”allow for it to mistreat its Irish employees”.

Amazon will release its full-year 2025 results on 6 February, when it will hold a conference call that will be broadcast live.

With reporting from AFP