Amazon could lay off nearly 20,000 employees amid latest round of job cuts.

Amazon plans to cut an estimated 18,000 jobs next year as the company prepares for a potential recession. In a memo to employees, CEO Andy Jassy said the layoffs will affect positions in Amazon Stores and PXTN, which is the company’s human resources division. The company had already laid off thousands of employees earlier this year. The cuts will account for roughly 5% of Amazon’s corporate employees, who number nearly 350,000 worldwide.<br><br>Amazon began the layoffs late last month in the Devices & Services unit, which includes popular products like Echo smart speakers and Alexa. The company said it expects to be finished with the layoffs by early 2023.<br><br>"It’s not lost on me or any of the leaders, and I appreciate that on top of having to operate our respective businesses today, and think about how we hire for the future, that we have this kind of effort underway for our colleagues, which is substantial," Jassy said. "There will be more role reductions in early 2023."<br><br>Last month, Amazon froze hiring in its corporate workforce and told internal recruiters to cancel open job postings for those positions.<br><br>- Guardian