Amazon has cut hundreds of jobs from Prime Video, James Bond Studio MGM and Prime Video as it battles tough competition on the streaming market.
In a memo sent to employees on Wednesday, the company announced that it would be eliminating “several hundreds of roles” after a review its TV and film output.
Mike Hopkins, Amazon’s streaming boss wrote: “Throughout the last year, we’ve examined nearly every aspect of our company with a view to improving our ability deliver more breakthrough movies and TV shows as well as live sports to our global customers in a personalized, easy-to-use entertainment experience.
We have identified areas where we can reduce or stop investing, while increasing our investments and focusing on the content and product initiatives which deliver the greatest impact.
This is the latest round in Amazon’s streamer business , after over 100 employees were laid-off at the beginning of last year.
Amazon’s Prime service is popular, but it also has a production capability that was boosted by the $8.5bn (£6.7bn ) acquisition of MGM Studios 2022.
MGM is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. It boasts more than 4,000 movies and 17,000 television shows, including James Bond and the recent hit Saltburn.
the growing competition, such as from Netflix and Disney has led to a retrenchment in the industry.
In an effort to revive growth, streaming services have increased subscription fees, implemented ad-funded levels and clamped down on password sharing.
Amazon is introducing ads alongside its movies and TV shows as of next month. Subscribers are required to pay £2.99 extra to avoid ads.
Hollywood was also affected by the long-running strikes of writers’ and actors’ unions that shut down many productions in 2013 and forced studios into a backlog.
In his note, Hopkins stated that Amazon focused its investments on initiatives “that we know will make a difference” but did no specify exactly where the cuts would be made.
Netflix and Disney both have plans to cut their content budgets, as financial constraints force the companies to prioritize quality over quantity.
Amazon said it would continue to invest in programming and that its streaming service is one of the most popular Prime benefits.
The layoffs are part of a larger wave of Amazon cuts as the economic slowdown has prompted layoffs in Silicon Valley . Last year, the tech giant cut more than 25,000 jobs in cloud computing and advertising.
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