- Amazon is closing its virtual travel division and its robotic warehouse team, Insider has learned.
- The teams, named Exploration and ORCA, join the list of projects that Amazon has recently launched
- At a recent global meeting, leaders said they were "doubling their savings" as growth slowed.
Amazon is closing two more divisions in the latest sign of budget cuts at the e-commerce giant, which this week told employees they needed to 'double down on savings' amid rising costs and an uncertain economic climate .
Amazon is getting rid of another warehouse robotics group, ORCA, as it downsizes its robotics workforce. It is not known how many people worked on the ORCA team. The company is also shutting down Amazon Explore, a virtual travel experience platform launched in 2020 during the pandemic. The department has about 100 employees, according to a person familiar with the group.
Amazon company Scout home delivery robot and warehouse robotics group, which bought more than $100 million in 2019, has cut its investment.
A spokesperson said some of the affected employees will be helped to relocate to other parts of the business.
"At Amazon, we brainstorm, test and invest in new ideas to delight customers," Amazon spokesman Brad Glasser said in a statement. "We continuously assess the growth and capabilities of our products and services to deliver customer value and make regular adjustments based on this assessment."
Amazon recently removed several categories. Amazon has developed an internal Grand Challenge Moon photo lab. He ditched Glow, a video calling device for kids. It has implemented major job cuts in its retail business while slowing warehouse expansion plans.
But at the same time, the company spends a lot to buy established companies in the same sectors of activity where it loses its ambitions.
The reduction in Amazon's robotics division comes after Amazon announced plans to buy Roomba vacuum cleaner maker iRobot for $1.7 billion. And earlier this year, after Amazon announced plans to buy its healthcare business, Amazon Care, a medical clinic for $3.9 billion.
At a town hall meeting this week, Amazon executives ordered their employees to tighten their belts. Employees must "do more with less" by streamlining and reducing costs and inventory levels, according to lengthy presentation slides obtained by an insider.
“We will be more vulnerable to how we grow in 2023,” Amazon CEO Andy Jacey said at the meeting.
Do you work for Amazon? Do you have any advice? Contact reporter Kathryn Long by phone or via the Signal encrypted messaging app (+1-206-375-9280) or email (klong@insider.com).
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