AMAZON.COM has cut around 180 jobs in its games division, at least the second round of cuts in under a week, as part of a broader restructuring, according to an email viewed yesterday by Reuters.
“After our initial restructuring in April, it became clear that we needed to focus our resources even more on the areas that are growing with the highest potential to drive our business forward,” according to the email dated November 13 from Christoph Hartmann, vice president of Amazon Games.
The company began informing employees Monday morning that their roles had been eliminated.
It represents the second cut to the division this year. Amazon last week also began cutting jobs in its streaming music and podcast division, according to people familiar with the matter.
It also cut a very small number of jobs in its human resources unit known as People Experience and Technology, or PXT, accord- ing to the sources. The games division offers downloadable versions of many video games, on a monthly rotation, as well as some Twitch channels and other services.
The company is focusing on the free games known as Prime Gaming, offered as a perk within the $139 annu- al Prime membership that also includes free shipping and free streaming video, Hartmann said.
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