On Feb 28, Amazon.com confirmed to Reuters that it had made staff reductions at its Wondery podcast unit, best known for producing "Dr. Death" and "Business Wars." Amazon acquired Wondery in 2020 and secured a $100 million deal last year for the podcast "New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce."
Amazon spokesperson Alice Zou stated, "We regularly review our team structures to ensure we're best set up to serve customers." Zou indicated that a "small number" of roles at Wondery were found to be unnecessary following a recent assessment.
An anonymous source mentioned to Reuters that both the content and advertising teams at Wondery were impacted, possibly affecting "dozens and dozens" of employees. However, Zou clarified that the actual number was lower, withholding further specifics on the size or financials of the Wondery workforce.
Although Amazon has not disclosed the exact number of staff at Wondery, Zou declined to provide more details. Earlier this month, Wondery ceased operations in Brazil and Mexico, resulting in job cuts, including that of Sarah Barrett, the Head of Mexico podcast content, who acknowledged her departure in a LinkedIn post.
Founded in 2016, Wondery has created podcasts, such as "The Shrink Next Door," that have been adapted for streaming services. Amazon, under the leadership of CEO Andy Jassy, has recently implemented job cuts to streamline operations and reduce bureaucracy. Jassy’s objective is to reorganize business units to decrease the ratio of managers to "individual contributors" by the end of the current quarter.
Amazon's stock closed up by 1.54% at $211.96.