Nickelodeon has hired former Amazon Kids original content lead Veronica Pickett in an unspecified role, Kidscreen is reporting.
Pickett says that the move is unrelated to “several hundred” Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios team members being laid off, adding that she wasn’t asked to leave Amazon Kids, and that the Amazon Kids team is not affected by the layoffs.
A writer who had previously worked at Nickelodeon and 9 Story Media Group, Pickett joined Amazon in 2019 to lead the development of Alexa for Kids. She took over the Amazon Kids original content team a year later, overseeing original series and development. During this time, Pickett shepherded original kids shows including Angry Birds Mystery Island and Blippi’s Treehouse.
During her time at Nickelodeon, Pickett worked in the script department for Blaze and the Monster Machines.
Mike Hopkins, SVP of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, sent out an internal memo today (Jan. 10) announcing the layoffs. Staffers in North America whose roles are affected were notified this morning, and international employees will find out their fate by the end of the week.
Hopkins noted in the memo that Prime Video has grown substantially and now has an impressive portfolio featuring its Freevee AVOD platform and a TVOD collective of more than 650 partner channels worldwide. But the company has been looking for areas where investment can be scaled back, and as a result, these layoffs are necessary to ensure its long-term success.
“We’ve identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact,” said Hopkins in the memo. “Our prioritization of initiatives that we know will move the needle, along with our continued investments in programming, marketing and product, positions our business for an even stronger future.”
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