SUNNYVALE — Amazon has decided to terminate hundreds of jobs in the South Bay in a fresh spate of layoffs that sketch out an increasingly dreary economic landscape for the tech sector and Silicon Valley.
The e-commerce behemoth intends to eliminate 263 jobs in northern Sunnyvale, according to official WARN notices that Amazon provided to the state Employment Development Department.
The starting point of the layoffs is slated to be mid-January of next year, the WARN letter shows.
Amazon’s Lab 126, which is based in Sunnyvale, has its operations in at least some of the several Sunnyvale office sites where the layoffs will occur.
The addresses where the affected employees work are 1100 Enterprise Way, 1160 Enterprise Way, 905 11th Ave. and 1100 Discovery Way, all in Sunnyvale, according to the WARN notice filed with the state EDD.
“Employee separations resulting from this action are expected to be permanent,” Amazon stated in the WARN letter. “The affected employees are not represented by a union or any other collective bargaining representative. Amazon and its affiliates do not allow separated employees to displace any other employee based on seniority or any other factor.”
The departures from Amazon are due to begin on Jan. 17, 2023.
Amazon’s cutbacks are just the latest in a slew of employment reductions that are affecting the tech sector.
This week, Facebook app owner Meta Platforms revealed it would eliminate 2,564 jobs in the Bay Area, including 1,642 in Menlo Park, 237 in Sunnyvale, 179 in Burlingame, 144 in Fremont and 362 in San Francisco.
Twitter revealed plans last week to chop nearly 900 Bay Area jobs.
Seattle-based Amazon is thought to be eliminating as many as 10,000 jobs worldwide, according to press accounts. It’s possible that more layoffs could occur in waves, depending on the company’s strategic and tactical goals.
Amazon did dangle some hope to displaced workers, however, in the case of the Sunnyvale layoffs.
“Affected employees who are separated as a result of this action will be paid all wages and other benefits to which they are entitled (if any) through their date of separation, provided they do not resign from their employment with Amazon prior to that date,” Amazon told the EDD in the WARN notice.
It also may be possible for some Amazon workers who are being affected by the current job cuts to remain with the company in some capacity.
“Affected employees who accept internal transfer opportunities at Amazon prior to their separation date will not be separated as a result of this action,” Heather Smedstad, Amazon’s vice president of human resources, stated in the WARN letter.
