Amazon plans to cut more than 18,000 jobs, with most of the losses coming from its shops including Amazon Fresh and Go, and its PXT organizations, which handle human resources and other functions.
The retail giant, which employs 1.5 million people worldwide, did not say which countries the job cuts would be focused on but it is understood it will include Europe.
At this stage, it is unclear how many redundancies are going to be made in the UK.
Amazon employees affected by the cuts will be communicated with from 18 January.
A memo sent out by Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy cited the "uncertain economy" for the cuts, saying Amazon had "hired rapidly over several years."
He said: "S-team and I are deeply aware that these role eliminations are difficult for people, and we don't take these decisions lightly or underestimate how much they might affect the lives of those who are impacted."
In November last year, the Amazon boss told staff that job cuts were coming and the announcement made to workers on Wednesday included the earlier cuts which have not been numbered.
Jassy also stated that the announcement of the job losses had been brought forward due to one of the firm's employees leaking the cuts externally.
The announcement of the job cuts is the biggest the company has seen in lifetime, and it has been reported that the cuts amount to around 6% of the company's roughly 300,000-person corporate workforce.
Amazon said it was going to work to support those affected and were going to provide packages which include a separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and external job placement support.
In the memo, Jassy said Amazon had "weathered uncertain and difficult economies" in the past, and will continue to do so going forward.
He also noted that companies that last a long time "go through different phases" and that they're not in the "heavy people expansion mode every year."
He added: "These changes will help us pursue our long-term opportunities with a stronger cost structure; however, I’m also optimistic that we’ll be inventive, resourceful, and scrappy in this time when we’re not hiring expansively and eliminating some roles."
Amazon experienced a boom in sales over the COVID-19 pandemic years, however, rising inflation and the cost of living crisis have had an effect on the e-commerce business.
