Amazon has laid off over 100 employees in its online pharmacy and medical division. Amazon Health Services senior vice president, Neil Lindsay, informed employees of the cuts via an internal memo on 6 February.
In the memo, Lindsay credits a “repositioning” of resources as the main reason behind the job cuts.
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“Unfortunately, these changes will result in the elimination of a few hundred roles across One Medical and Amazon Pharmacy,” he wrote.
“We are aware these role eliminations are difficult for those impacted, as well as those who have worked alongside them,” added Lindsay.
Looking forward, Lindsay stated that Amazon would continue to invest in innovation to best impact the direct experiences of Amazon Pharmacy customers.
The layoffs include employees of One Medical, a primary care app that Amazon acquired for $3.9bn in 2022. Membership of the One Medical app was recently included in Amazon’s Prime membership at a discounted rate in November 2023.
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By GlobalDataIn an analyst blog written shortly after Amazon’s acquisition of One Medical, analyst at GlobalData Amy Larsen DeCarlo wrote that the deal marked an “all-in” attitude to entering healthcare.
“While the deal is not the retailer’s first foray into healthcare, the value of the deal and the pairing with Amazon’s other interests in both brick-and-mortar retail and pharmaceuticals show just how serious the company is about pursuing an outsized role in the medical industry,” she wrote.
Amazon has already cut over 18,000 jobs in 2023 alone, with retail and recruiting titles being the most affected. New layoffs in its healthcare divisions could signify trouble in Amazon’s attempt to become a leader in health tech and telemedical care.
Healthcare and pharmaceuticals are industries that often require a high amount of capital investment and long timelines for a company to become successful. High regulatory requirements are also a major barrier to many companies who may have not previously had healthcare experience in their portfolios.
Whilst Lindsay did state that Amazon’s healthcare clinic marketplace had a customer satisfaction rating of 96%, the company will continue to focus on making its healthcare solutions affordable and accessible to a wider audience.
