Amazon Pharmacy Division Lays Off ‘Small Number’ of Employees

Amazon laid off a “small number” of employees in its Pharmacy business Thursday (July 13).

The layoffs come after the retail giant completed its largest job reduction in its 29 years, focused on grocery and devices, CNBC reported Friday (July 14).

Reach for comment by PYMNTS, Amazon spokesperson Brad Glasser said in an emailed statement: “Like many businesses, we are always improving our processes, for both quality and efficiency, and identifying how we can deliver on the best customer experience. As a result, we have made the decision to adjust resources, and a small number of roles have been eliminated on the Amazon Pharmacy Services team.”

About 80 employees were let go from the Amazon Pharmacy division, Semafor reported Thursday. In another round of layoffs, announced earlier this year, employees from Amazon’s pharmacy, digital health tools and Halo fitness band units were affected, according to the CNBC report.

Amazon has made several entries into the healthcare market, according to the report. The company launched its online pharmacy in 2020 as well as a short-lived telehealth service called Amazon Care. Its latest acquisition, One Medical for $3.9 billion earlier this year, shows a continued focus on healthcare.

The retail giant announced 9,000 layoffs in March after cutting 18,000 positions in January. The job cuts primarily affected the company’s cloud computing, Twitch livestream and advertising departments.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a March 20 message to employees: “For several years leading up to this one, most of our businesses added a significant amount of headcount. This made sense given what was happening in our businesses and the economy as a whole. However, given the uncertain economy in which we reside, and the uncertainty that exists in the near future, we have chosen to be more streamlined in our costs and headcount.”

Amazon and its rival, Walmart, launched their respective low-cost prescription services as their first steps into the healthcare industry. Today, their healthcare ambitions go far beyond dispensing prescriptions.

In one recent move, Amazon stepped up the competition in healthcare by offering as a Prime Day deal a 28% discount on the first year of an annual One Medical membership.