Amazon layoffs: Company to cut thousands of jobs as it closes Fresh stores; here are options that employees have: Get severance pay or ...

Amazon recently announced that it is shutting down its Amazon Fresh supermarket chain. The decision of the company to shut down the Amazon Fresh stores will lead to thousands of job cuts across the US.

Last week, the e-commerce major announced that it will close around 60 Fresh stores which will put an end to the effort of six-years. As reported by Business Insider, the WARN notices filed in various states confirm the sale of layoffs. As aper the filling, in California only the company will shut down 20 Fresh stores which will affect around 3,900 workers. Most Fresh locations closed to the public on February 1, though California stores will remain open until mid-March due to state law.

Amazon giving these options to employees

As Amazon is shutting down the Fresh stores, it has outlined two main options for the affected employees. The company is giving a choice to the employees in which they can either choose the severance pay or can take transfer within the company. The workers will continue to receive their normal pay and benefits for 90 days after the closure announcement, or until April 28. The compensation offered by the company will be based on either the minimum pay for their employee class of their average hours worked over the past 60 days whichever is higher.

The report further adds that employees who do not secure another role within the company by late April will then receive severance packages, calculated as one week of pay for every six months of service at Amazon Fresh. Workers are guaranteed a minimum of four weeks’ pay, with the possibility of up to 20 weeks depending on tenure.

Transfer opportunities for employees

For those seeking to remain within Amazon, the company is encouraging Fresh workers to apply for similar positions at Whole Foods Stores or Amazon grocery warehouse via its internal A to Z portal.

An Amazon spokesperson said: “All affected employees will have the opportunity to apply for open roles within Amazon where available, and we’re providing career transition services to help them explore options.”Amazon Fresh associates typically earned between $16 and $20 per hour, according to data from job site Indeed. Their responsibilities ranged from picking delivery orders to handling checkout operations.

Why Amazon is shutting down Amazon Go and Fresh stores

Amazon Go and Fresh stores were introduced as Just Walk Out technology, but they struggled to establish a distinctive customer experience and sustainable economic model. On the other hand, Whole Food Market acquired in 2017 by Amazon say strong growth with sales rising more than 40% in recent years. Also, Amazon’s online grocery business also witnessed a surge with perishable grocery sales through Same-Day Delivery growing 40x since January 2025, making fresh groceries one of the most-ordered categories on its platform.