Amazon cuts some Wondery podcast jobs as part of reorganization of audio business

Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesAmazon is terminating some positions in its Wondery podcast division and the head of the group is leaving as part of a broader reshuffling of the company's audio unit.In a Monday note to staffers, Steve Boom, Amazon's vice president of audio, Twitch and games, said the company is consolidating some Wondery units under its Audible audiobook and podcasting division

Wondery CEO Jen Sargent is also stepping down from her role, Boom said."These changes will not only better align our teams as they work to take advantage of the strategic opportunities ahead but, even more crucially, will ensure we have the right structure in place to der the very best experience to creators, customers and advertisers," Boom wrote in the memo, which was viewed by CNBC. "Unfortunately, these changes also include some role reductions, and we have notified those employees this morning." 110 employees will be let go as a result of the move, according to Bloomberg, which was first to report on the layoffs

Amazon declined to on the scale of the job cuts.The move comes nearly five years after Amazon acquired Wondery as part of a push to expand its catalog of original audio content

The podcasting company made a name for itself with hit shows "Dirty John" and "Dr

Death."More recently, Wondery signed several lucrative licensing deals with Jason and Travis Kelce's "New Heights" podcast, along with Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert."Amazon is lining "how Wondery further integrates" into the company by separating the teams that oversee its narrative from those "creator-led shows," Boom wrote.The narrative podcasting unit will consolidate under Audible, and creator-led content will move to a new unit within Boom's organization in Amazon called "creator services," he wrote.Amazon's audio pursuits face a heightened challenge from the growing ity of on Alphabet's YouTube, which now hosts an increasing number of shows. shows require different discovery, growth and monetization strategies than "audio-first, narrative series," Boom wrote in the memo to Amazon staffers."The podcast landscape has evolved significantly over the past few years," Boom said.WATCH: YouTube will surprise to upside for Alphabetwatch now3:4903:49YouTube will surprise to the upside for Alphabet's earnings, says Tim SeymourThe Exchange