Tech

Amazon layoffs have begun. This could be the largest corporate cut in its history.

Andy Jassy
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy Richard Brian/Reuters
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On Tuesday, Amazon began what is expected to be the largest round of corporate layoffs in its history, according to current employees who have been affected. 

The company aims to lay off about 10,000 employees in its retail, devices and HR divisions, the New York Times previously reported.

Workers targeted for layoffs received cryptic invitations to "mandatory" Tuesday meetings with teammates, leaders and human resources personnel, according to one such invitation seen by Insider. During the meeting, employees were informed that they would have 60 days to find a new job internally. If they did not find a new job after that time, they can take severance. It was not immediately clear how much severance Amazon is offering.

It's also not clear how easily impacted employees will be able to find a new job internally. Amazon recently announced a companywide hiring freeze that also applies to internal transfers.

Amazon's spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Work at Amazon? Got a tip? Contact reporter Katherine Long via phone or the encrypted messaging app Signal (+1-206-375-9280) or email (klong@insider.com).

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Katherine was a correspondent on Business Insider's fast investigations team.She previously covered Amazon, with a focus on the company's extensive warehousing and logistics operations, at Insider and  The Seattle Times.She is a graduate of Brown University and Columbia Journalism School's Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism, where she won a Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship and the Peter Keller Award for Editing.  Katherine also worked on an Emmy-award-winning episode of The New York Times's television series, The Weekly. Contact her via phone or the encrypted messaging app Signal (+1-206-375-9280).