Social media conversation around ComiXology erupted on Jan. 18 after major redundancies were reported at the Amazon-owned company.According to Amazon journalist Jason Del Ray, Amazon retail CEO Doug Herrington issued a note notifying employees of the layoffs in the morning, emphasizing that it was "an important part of a wider effort to lower our cost to serve so we can continue investing in the wide selection, low prices, and fast shipping that our customers love." While ComiXology was not specifically mentioned in the report, employees of the digital comics company clarified on Twitter that they had been affected. ComiXology founders David Steinberger and John D. Roberts chimed in, noting that they were saddened over the loss of jobs.RELATED: Comixolgy's The Crimson Cage Combines Horror, Wrestling - And Shakespere?!

CBR reached out to Amazon for comment, and was referred to a general post about Amazon's layoffs with no details regarding ComiXology's situation. A portion of the statement, written by Amazon CEO Andy Jassay, reads: "As I shared back in November, as part of our annual planning process for 2023, leaders across the company have been working with their teams and looking at their workforce levels, investments they want to make in the future, and prioritizing what matters most to customers and the long-term health of our businesses. This year’s review has been more difficult given the uncertain economy and that we’ve hired rapidly over the last several years. In November, we communicated the hard decision to eliminate a number of positions across our Devices and Books businesses, and also announced a voluntary reduction offer for some employees in our People, Experience, and Technology (PXT) organization. I also shared that we weren’t done with our annual planning process and that I expected there would be more role reductions in early 2023.

"Today, I wanted to share the outcome of these further reviews, which is the difficult decision to eliminate additional roles. Between the reductions we made in November and the ones we’re sharing today, we plan to eliminate just over 18,000 roles. Several teams are impacted; however, the majority of role eliminations are in our Amazon Stores and PXT organizations. 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. We are working to support those who are affected and are providing packages that include a separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and external job placement support."

Social Media Sheds Further Light on Amazon's ComiXology Layoffs

Scott McGovern, who previously worked as a program manager at ComiXology for a decade, posted a Twitter thread in the aftermath of the layoffs. McGovern estimated that "at least 50% of the staff have been let go," and added that the number might be as high as 75%. McGovern also wrote that he was "not optimistic" about the future of digital comics at Amazon despite the best efforts of ComiXology staff.

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Others, whether they be comic fans or former employees, also commented on the situation.

ComiXology was fully integrated with Amazon at the beginning of 2022 after previously existing as a separate site and app. On the day of integration, ComiXology's desktop reader was shuttered and users were shuffled to an Amazon subsite to purchase their books. Many were unable to access comics they had already bought due to confusion regarding the buggy user interface, and industry creators -- including the likes of Gail Simone, Greg Pak and Jim Zub -- rallied against the changes. ComiXology later admitted that the integration with Amazon had been "far from seamless." The company continued to address a number of these criticisms in mid-2022, emphasizing that employees were hard at work to improve the user interface and create a new, reliable desktop reader.

Source: Twitter, Amazon