After a massive redesign last year that left readers searching for other digital platforms to read their funny books on, Comixology is undergoing sizable layoffs. Wednesday, the Amazon-owned company let go of a sizable portion of the Comixology staff, with some former employees guessing anywhere from 50 to 75-percent of the workforce behind the once-thriving digital comics platform was met with a pink slip.
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The Comixology layoffs were part of the first round of larger Amazon cuts, which will eventually amount to approximately 18,000 lost jobs. In a Twitter thread shared by project manager Scott McGovern, one of the employees affected by the layoffs, it’s estimated the a great majority of Comixology employees were impacted.
While Comixology proper has yet to offer a statement on the staff shakeups, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy released a statement Wednesday afternoon clarifying the company’s decision to lay off nearly 20,000 employees.
“To those impacted by these reductions, I want you to know how grateful I am for your contributions to Amazon, and the work you have done on behalf of customers,” Jassy wrote in a blog post. “You have made a meaningful difference in a lot of customers’ lives. To those who will continue on the journey with us, I look forward to partnering with you to keep making life better and easier for customers every day and relentlessly inventing to do so.”
Prior to his hiring as Amazon CEO, Jassy served as the CEO of Amazon Web Services. He was personally appointed to his role by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos upon the executives retirement in 2020.
Jassy’s note says most of the layoffs will impact the company’s Amazon Stores and PXT (People, Experience, and Technology Solutions) branches. He also added that they hoped to communicate better with employees before someone within the company “leaked” news of the layoffs.
“We typically wait to communicate about these outcomes until we can speak with the people who are directly impacted,” the executive wrote. “However, because one of our teammates leaked this information externally, we decided it was better to share this news earlier so you can hear the details directly from me. We intend on communicating with impacted employees (or where applicable in Europe, with employee representative bodies) starting on January 18.”
Comixology first hit controversy last year after Amazon executives opted to shutter the standalone Comixology app in fold the brand into the greater Amazon Kindle framework. It was far from a popular choice.
