Amazon plans to reduce employee stock awards amid economic headwinds

Move comes weeks after company announced second round of mass layoffs

On March 20, Amazon cut 9,000 more jobs after the 18,000 employees that were fired in January. AFP

Amazon has said it would reduce employee stock awards, a part of its compensation plan, as the global e-commerce company navigates an uncertain economy.

"We made the decision to reduce RSU [restricted stock units] awards in the final outlook year by a small amount (other years are not impacted)," an Amazon representative said in an emailed statement, without specifying the period of the final outlook year.

The move comes weeks after Amazon announced a second round of mass layoffs, piling on to a wave of job cuts that has swept the technology sector as a rough economy forces companies to become leaner.

Business Insider had first reported the planned change in the company's pay structure and said Amazon would re-evaluate 2025 compensation in the first quarter of next year to "plan for stock variation".

The company was considering the possibility of adjusting its compensation model to be more balanced between base cash and equity, after looking at the combination of an uncertain economy and its compensation budget, Amazon said.

The company's shares have gained more than 20 per cent this year, following a near 50 per cent tumble last year.