A few days ago we brought you the big news: Amazon was going to introduce ads on Prime Video to support its film and television division, something they can do since their customer base is gigantic. Now we learn that they are laying off hundreds of workers.
According to IndieWire, Mike Hopkins, Senior Vice President of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, has informed Prime Video and MGM employees of the decision today (January 10) via email.
The announcement comes less than 24 hours after Bloomberg reported that Twitch, the live streaming service owned by Amazon, also lost 35% of its workforce, which amounts to about 500 employees.
A bleeding goodbye with ads just around the corner
In a copy of the memorandum obtained by IndieWire, part of Hopkins’ email says: “Our industry continues to evolve rapidly, and it is important that we prioritize our investments for the long-term success of our business. As a result of these decisions, we will be eliminating several hundred positions across the Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios organization.”
“This is a difficult decision to make and one that my leadership team and I do not take lightly. It is hard to say goodbye to the talented workers who have made significant contributions on behalf of our clients, team, and business. Thank you for your dedication and hard work,” concludes the message.
The news of the layoffs will be a hard blow for those affected, especially when Amazon prepares to follow the example of many of the best streaming services in the world, including Netflix, by introducing ads on its Prime Video streaming platform.
In June 2023, we reported on rumors about the introduction of ads on Prime Video. When the news broke in September that Amazon planned to introduce ads on Prime Video in 2024, industry experts speculated that the advertising plan for Prime Video could generate up to $6 billion in annual revenue for Amazon.
