Amazon shutters Prime Video originals in Southeast Asia

Gaurav Gandhi (Source: Prime Video)

Amazon streamer Prime Video is cutting investment in Southeast Asia and eliminating roles in its Singapore-based originals team to move to a “leaner local operating model.”

The redundancies come as part of the global cuts announced by Amazon last week, which will see “several hundred” jobs eliminated across MGM Studios and Prime Video.

The layoffs in Southeast Asia were revealed in an internal memo to staff from Gaurav Gandhi, Prime Video’s VP for Asia Pacific, who wrote: “We have made the decision to discontinue some programs and initiatives, and rebalance our international organisation to focus on the countries and regions driving the most growth for our service.”

According to Deadline, which first reported the redundancies, almost all staff from the Singapore office are to exit as local originals halt in the region – with about 25 remaining, including David Simonsen, who will stay on as director of Prime Video in Southeast Asia.

Shows and films set to launch in 2024 and 2025 are reportedly unaffected, but there will be no new commissions and Prime Video in Southeast Asia will instead focus on licensing local and pan-regional content, particularly from South Korea, Japan and the US.

Gandhi confirmed in his memo that: “There will be no change in our investment focus in our other APAC territories including Japan and India.”

He concluded: “We remain very optimistic about the long-term future of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios where we are taking significant steps and investments towards our long-term vision of making Prime Video the first-choice entertainment destination for customers worldwide.”