Amazon announced Nov. 3 that it is pausing “new incremental” hires for its corporate workforce in response to an “uncertain” economy.
“We anticipate keeping this pause in place for the next few months, and will continue to monitor what we’re seeing in the economy and the business to adjust as we think makes sense,” Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience and technology, said in a note to employees published by Amazon.
Amazon said it will still hire to replace people who leave and that it may continue to hire incrementally in certain, targeted areas, though the company generally will focus on current operations.
“With fewer people to hire this moment, this should give each team an opportunity to further prioritize what matters most to customers and the business, and to be more productive,” Galetti said.
CHROs said in a recent PwC survey that they expect to take various workforce reduction measures in the next six months due to concerns about recession, including layoffs and hiring freezes.
Other studies have shown that a focus on hiring over retention may be bad for organizations in the long run — and a looming recession may not be a bad time to focus on retention strategies where available. In fact, some employers are shifting to a “labor hoarding” model to avoid the talent struggle that took place after mass layoffs in 2008.
