



SEATTLE -- In a rare cutback, Amazon is reportedly laying off hundreds of corporate employees at its Seattle headquarters.



According to our news partner The Seattle Times, hundreds of others in Amazon's global operations will also face layoffs. The jobs impacted are related to Amazon's consumer retail business.



Back in 2010, Amazon employed about 5,000 people in its Seattle offices. That number has climbed to more than 40,000 people.



The Times cites several sources who say the company's rapid growth in the last two years left some teams over budget and with more employees than work to do.



Hiring freezes had also been implemented across several groups.



“As part of our annual planning process, we are making head count adjustments across the company — small reductions in a couple of places and aggressive hiring in many others,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. “For affected employees, we work to find roles in the areas where we are hiring.”



Some employees have been informed of the layoffs, while others are expected to find out in the coming weeks.



Amazon later confirmed the layoffs to Q13 News, adding that "over the past 5 months, we have secured at least 1 million square feet in the city, which will allow us to host tens of employees more (at least 5,000) – a sign we will keep hiring here."



By the end of last year, Amazon employed over 560,000 globally.



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