Amazon plans thousands more corporate job cuts next week
Amazon.com Inc is preparing a second wave of corporate layoffs next week as part of an ongoing initiative to trim its global workforce by roughly 30,000 employees. According to reporting from Reuters, the upcoming cuts are expected to mirror the scale of the 14,000 positions eliminated last October.
The planned reductions could begin as early as Tuesday, according to Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity. These moves represent a significant step toward the company’s goal of streamlining its professional ranks after years of rapid expansion.
While an internal letter previously linked the October reductions to the transformative power of artificial intelligence, CEO Andy Jassy has offered a different rationale for the restructuring. During a third-quarter earnings call, Jassy clarified that the shift was “not really financially driven and it’s not even really AI-driven.”
The chief executive pointed toward organizational friction and a desire to return to the company’s leaner roots as the primary catalysts for the change. “You end up with a lot more people than what you had before, and you end up with a lot more layers,” Jassy told analysts during the call.
The total reduction of 30,000 jobs would represent nearly 10% of Amazon’s corporate workforce, though it remains a fraction of the firm’s 1.58 million total employees. Most of the company’s staff continues to be concentrated in its massive network of fulfillment centers and warehouses.
This series of cuts marks the largest headcount reduction in the online retailer’s three-decade history, surpassing the 27,000 jobs eliminated in 2022. The strategy reflects a broader corporate trend of using technology and restructuring to reduce bureaucracy and reliance on human labor.
Jobs in Amazon’s AWS, retail, Prime Video, and HR divisions are set to be impacted, the sources told Reuters, noting that plans could change. Amazon stock rose 0.2% in after-hours trade following the report.
The total reduction of 30,000 jobs would represent nearly 10% of Amazon’s corporate workforce, though it remains a fraction of the firm’s 1.58 million total employees. Most of the company’s staff continues to be concentrated in its massive network of fulfillment centers and warehouses.
This series of cuts marks the largest headcount reduction in the online retailer’s three-decade history, surpassing the 27,000 jobs eliminated in 2022. The strategy reflects a broader corporate trend of using technology and restructuring to reduce bureaucracy and reliance on human labor.
Jobs in Amazon’s AWS, retail, Prime Video, and HR divisions are set to be impacted, the sources told Reuters, noting that plans could change. Amazon stock rose 0.2% in after-hours trade following the report. Reuters
