Here’s what Amazon notified Audible staff as layoffs hit the audiobook division

Amazon is laying off Audible staff as part of wider plans to cut 14,000 corporate jobs.
The layoffs aim to boost “focus and speed” in its key growth areas, Audible’s CEO stated in a memo.
Amazon’s broader cuts are aimed at creating the company leaner in the age of AI, the company stated on Tuesday.

Amazon is creating layoffs at Audible as part of wider plans to cut 14,000 corporate jobs, Business Insider has learned.

Bob Carrigan, the CEO of Audible, notified employees in a Tuesday email, which was seen by Business Insider, that affected workers have been notified and additional organizational alters would follow.

Those alters would “add focus and speed” to the audiobook and podcast division’s most critical growth areas, he stated.

Carrigan added that Audible is “laser-focutilized on creating sure we are organized and resourced for continued strength in the years ahead.”

The number of affected roles at Audible could not be learned.

Amazon declined to comment, referring Business Insider to a Tuesday blog post from Beth Galetti, the company’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, announcing the sweeping cuts.

The post outlined how Amazon is aiming to be leaner against the backdrop of AI, which she described as the “most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet.”

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy stated in June that Amazon’s workforce would shrink as a result of AI-driven efficiency gains. The company cut jobs in its cloud division, Amazon Web Services, in July after it froze its hiring budreceive for the retail unit.

Read the full memo below.