SAN FRANCISCO, June 5 (Reuters) - Amazon ( AMZN ) has

cut jobs in its books division, including at its Goodreads

review site and Kindle units, the company said on Thursday.

The Seattle-based retailer said that fewer than 100 workers were

impacted and the move was meant to improve efficiency and

streamline operations.

"As part of our ongoing work to make our teams and programs

operate more efficiently, and to better align with our business

roadmap, we've made the difficult decision to eliminate a small

number of roles within the Books organization," an Amazon ( AMZN )

spokesperson said in a statement.

Amazon ( AMZN ) has been making piecemeal job cuts, most recently in its

devices and services unit, as well as its Wondery podcast

division and stores and communications staff.

CEO Andy Jassy is undertaking an initiative to reduce what

he has described as an excess of bureaucracy at the company,

including by reducing the number of managers.

Through this year's first quarter, Amazon ( AMZN ) added about 4,000

jobs compared to last year's fourth quarter, according to a

disclosure last month.

Shares of Amazon ( AMZN ) closed 0.3% higher on Thursday and are down

5.6% so far this year. The job cuts in the books division were

first reported by Business Insider.