Amazon is set to cut 10,000 jobs with many going from its division covering its 'failing' Alexa devices.
The voice assistant launched in 2014 to much fanfare from the US giant as customers rushed to snap up its Echo devices.
However, after more than eight years insiders say it has struggled to live up to its hype and lost more than $3billion (£2.4bn) in the first quarter of 2022.
As a result the tech firm is set to lay off more 10,000 jobs, it said in an update shared with the Devices & Services organisation earlier this week.
The job loss is the biggest in the firm's history.
Dave Limp, Senior Vice President of Devices & Services at Amazon, said: “ After a deep set of reviews, we recently decided to consolidate some teams and programs.
“One of the consequences of these decisions is that some roles will no longer be required. It pains me to have to deliver this news as we know we will lose talented Amazonians from the Devices & Services org as a result.
“I am incredibly proud of the team we have built and to see even one valued team member leave is never an outcome any of us want.
“We notified impacted employees yesterday, and will continue to work closely with each individual to provide support, including assisting in finding new roles.
“In cases where employees cannot find a new role within the company, we will support the transition with a package that includes a separation payment, transitional benefits, and external job placement support.
“We know people across the organisation may be impacted differently by this news and will lead with compassion for all team members.
“While I know this news is tough to digest, I do want to emphasise that the Devices and Services organisation remains an important area of investment for Amazon, and we will continue to invent on behalf of our customers.”
Reports suggest Alexa is now third in the electronic assistant technology in the US with 71.6million users - behind Google Assistant (81.5million) and Siri (77.6million).
Earlier this month it was reported subscribers wanting to listen to music on Alexa may have to pay to pick music.
Last month a woman caught her unfaithful partner cheating on her thanks to recordings found on her Amazon speaker.
TikTok user Jessica discovered her partner was seeing another woman thanks to a recording stored on her Alexa account.
In the recording a woman is heard shouting at the smart speaker, alongside Jessica's now ex-boyfriend.
The woman captioned the clip "So this is how I caught my ex cheating I didn't even know Alexa stored this shizzz".
