Amazon to lay off staff in U.S., Canada and Costa Rica by end of day

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc will cut some jobs in the United States, Canada and Costa Rica by the end of Wednesday as part of its plan to lay off 18,000 employees, the e-commerce giant said in a memo to staff seen by Reuters.

The layoffs are the latest in the U.S. technology sector, with companies cutting their bloated workforce and slashing costs to reverse pandemic-era excesses and prepare for a worsening global economy.

Amazon.com Chief Executive Andy Jassy said earlier this month the cuts, about 6% of the company's roughly 300,000 corporate employees, would mostly impact the e-commerce and human resources divisions.

Microsoft said earlier on Wednesday it would cut about 10,000 jobs and take a $1.2-billion charge.

(Reporting by Tiyashi Datta and Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Shinjini Ganguli)