Amazon defers offer letters to freshers till January 2024 amidst layoffs

As the tech giant continues to restructure its internal operations and continuing global layoff, new hires have also been impacted

Amazon had deferred hiring fresh graduates by several months amid the mass layoffs, reported Business Today.

According to the report, Amazon has postponed the issuance of offer letters to fresh graduates from institutes such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the National Institutes of Technology (NITs) for several months.

Tech companies across the world have been in the news almost daily regarding mass layoffs. Despite all the chaos around people losing their jobs and restructuring in companies, tech giants have continued campus hiring.
 

A recent graduate from IIT Bombay told Business Today that they had been hired for the role of Software Development Engineer at Amazon but the offer had been deferred to January 2024. The student further shared of those who had interned with the company had a similar experience.

The report stated that the placement cell from an NIT has also confirmed that some students’ offer letters had been deferred, while others entirely revoked.

"In light of the challenging economic conditions, we're delaying the start dates for some of our college hires by up to six months. We're offering assistance to help address any financial impact. This decision does not involve revoking or rescinding any offer letters that have been extended to students. Amazon remains committed to university recruiting and developing next generation of leaders and builders," said Amazon spokesperson. 

The Financial Times reported a similar incident in the United States in December 2022, where student offer letters were deferred by a year. 

The report stated that the company had told the students that it was a business decision, not a personal one, and blamed the "macroeconomic environment". 

The students affected were offered a one-off payment of $13,000, regardless of whether they chose to later join the company, reportedly.

According to the Indian Express, as of March 31, the company had announced the elimination of 9,000 jobs, making the total number of employees laid off 27,000. 

The announcement of the mass layoffs came in November 2022. Since most campus placements begin in December and carry on till May, the company should have had ample time to consider its hiring strategies in Indian higher education institutes.

This raises the question as to why the tech giant participated in campus hiring if they were not in the position to take on fresh talent. 

The Washington Post reported on Monday that Amazon employees based in the company’s Seattle headquarters had internally announced plans to walk off the job due to frustration over the layoff, return to office mandate, and the overall tensions around the tech company’s commitments. The report stated that the plan was meant to be held on May 31, about a week after the annual shareholder meeting.

Many students are not in the position to wait six months to begin working and will most likely seek out other opportunities. They may have also missed out on employment opportunities already after being offered a position with the tech giant.

According to Amazon’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, the company reported an increase in net sales by 9 per cent to $127.4 billion in the first quarter of 2023. 

Their net income in the first quarter was $3.2 billion.

Operating income has reportedly increased to $4.8 billion in the first quarter, compared with $3.7 billion in the first quarter of 2022.