Amazon.com Inc has announced plans to eliminate close to 14,000 corporate positions, about 4% of its white-collar staff, as part of a general restructuring process associated with the company's continued move toward artificial intelligence (AI)-powered operations.
Amazon's Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology, Beth Galetti, wrote in a Tuesday blog post that the decision is an ongoing effort to "reduce bureaucracy, remove layers, and shift resources toward our biggest priorities."
“This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the internet,” Galetti wrote, adding that the restructuring aims to “make Amazon leaner and faster” as it positions itself for long-term efficiency gains.
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According to a Bloomberg report, the layoffs span multiple divisions, including logistics, cloud computing (AWS), video games, and digital payments. The company is also streamlining management roles that grew rapidly during the pandemic-era hiring boom.
Galetti suggested additional layoffs are possible next year, while Amazon is set to continue to make new hires for "key strategic roles" in technology, logistics, and AI development. "The world is changing quickly. While we continue investing in our biggest bets, we will also find additional places to remove layers and realise efficiency gains," she said.
Employee response and company concerns
In response to the news, internal chat groups were abuzz with workers asking which groups would be affected the most. Many talked about how to retrieve personal data from company devices and sharing job leads, Bloomberg reported.
Amazon had around 1.55 million workers globally as of June 30, with around 350,000 in corporate positions. The 14,000 elimination of jobs represents a little over 4% of that group.
This is Amazon's biggest wave of layoffs since 2022–23, when 27,000 corporate jobs were cut after a post-pandemic slowdown. CEO Andy Jassy had cautioned in June that headcount across multiple departments would be reduced by automation and AI at some point.
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Cost-cutting drive continues
Amazon has been tightening spending through 2025, suspending hiring for some management positions and imposing tighter attrition goals. Groups in advertising, logistics, and cloud operations have reportedly been instructed not to substitute leaving staff unless necessary.
The latest wave of cost-cutting by the company is part of broader trend in Big Tech, with companies like Google, Meta, and Microsoft restructuring along AI technologies.
