Amazon reaches out to former employees, including laid-off staff

Amazon is reaching out to former employees, including some who were laid off, about job openings in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cloud computing, according to recruiter emails reported this week.

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The outreach comes after the company cut more than 30,000 corporate jobs through multiple rounds of workforce reductions.

Recruiters Contact Former Employees

The outreach includes Amazon’s AI agent organisation, which is overseen by AWS Vice President Swami Sivasubramanian.

Recruiter emails show that former employees with AI and machine learning experience were contacted about opportunities to return to the company.

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One recruitment effort was described in an email as the “Swami’s Boomerang Reengagement Initiative.” In another case, an AWS Finance recruiter contacted a former employee and discussed a shorter hiring process for a possible return.

Also Read: New IBM CHRO Study: AI Puts Critical Thinking at the Center of Workforce Priorities

Reports indicate that Amazon is contacting both former employees who were laid off and people who left the company voluntarily. However, the available reports do not provide a figure for how many former employees have been contacted or rehired.

Amazon Says Rehiring Is a Longstanding Practice

Amazon spokesperson Haley Silva told Business Insider that rehiring former employees is a normal and longstanding part of the company’s recruitment process.

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She said the practice is used across the company and that former employees who were laid off can also be eligible for rehire.

Amazon’s latest outreach therefore should not be interpreted as a company-wide reversal of its layoffs. The company has not said that the former employees being contacted are being rehired because their earlier roles were eliminated in error.

What It Means for HR

The development brings attention to boomerang hiring, in which companies consider former employees for new vacancies.

For specialised roles, former employees may already be familiar with the organisation’s systems, processes and workplace practices.

• Amazon is contacting former employees for current openings, including AI, machine learning and cloud roles.
• Some people contacted had previously been laid off by Amazon.
• Amazon says rehiring former employees is a longstanding recruitment practice.
• The company has not disclosed how many former employees have been contacted or rehired through the current outreach.