Amazon’s Wondery podcast unit trims jobs

By Greg Bensinger

(Reuters) - Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) cut "a small number" of jobs at its Wondery podcast unit, known for "Dr. Death" and "Business Wars," the company said in a statement to Reuters on Friday.

Amazon purchased Wondery in 2020 for a reported $300 million and last year signed a three-year $100 million deal for rights to "New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce," a podcast featuring the brothers of National Football League fame.

"We regularly review our team structures to ensure we’re best set up to serve customers," said Amazon spokesperson Alice Zou. "Following a recent review, we’ve identified a small number of roles in the Wondery organization that are no longer required."

A person familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said both the content and advertising teams were affected, and it appeared to involve "dozens and dozens" of workers. Zou said the number was lower, without providing details.

Amazon has not publicly disclosed the size of its Wondery workforce. Zou declined to offer more details about the unit’s size or finances.

Wondery earlier this month shuttered its operations in Brazil and Mexico. Among those impacted were Sarah Barrett, the head of Mexico podcast content, who published a LinkedIn post addressing her firing.

Wondery was founded in 2016 and has produced several podcasts that were adapted for streaming television, such as "The Shrink Next (LON:NXT) Door."

Amazon most recently cut jobs among its communications staff last month in an effort to reduce costs and what CEO Andy Jassy has called an abundance of bureaucracy.

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Jassy has slashed tens of thousands of corporate jobs since taking the helm in July 2021. Last year he announced a goal to reorganize business units in order to reduce the ratio of managers to “individual contributors” by the end of this year’s first quarter.

Amazon shares closed up 1.54% at $211.96.

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