As Amazon Go continues to struggle and Amazon Fresh sees significant growth, the company has made the strategic decision to merge the two teams at the HQ level. This move comes after an internal evaluation of both divisions, and while not made lightly, it was clear that some roles within the Worldwide Grocery Stores division were no longer necessary.
Although Amazon has not specified which roles will be eliminated, they noted that the number of layoffs will be minimal. Affected employees will receive 60 days of continued benefits and will be eligible for severance packages.
Amazon’s retail division has faced ongoing challenges with profitability and maintaining consistent growth. This merger may be an early indicator of broader organizational changes. In Q3 of last year, CEO Andy Jassy addressed the company in a letter, announcing the reduction of middle management roles as a way to improve efficiency. That messaging appears aligned with this current restructuring within the Go and Fresh HQ teams.
In recent years, Amazon Go has reduced its U.S. footprint by half, dropping from 30 to 15 locations by 2023. While Amazon Fresh has seen stronger performance, with over 60 locations, expansion efforts were also slowed in 2023. Still, Amazon has reaffirmed its commitment to continuing growth in both the grocery and convenience store (C-store) space.
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