Amazon is preparing to eliminate up to 30,000 corporate positions beginning Tuesday, in what could become the company’s largest round of white-collar job cuts since the 2022 layoffs, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
While the planned reduction accounts for a small portion of Amazon’s 1.55 million global workforce, it would affect nearly 10% of its roughly 350,000 corporate employees. The move follows two years of smaller layoffs across divisions such as devices, podcasting, and communications.
Sources said this round could impact a range of departments, including human resources (known internally as People Experience and Technology, or PXT), Amazon Web Services (AWS), operations, and devices. Managers in these divisions were reportedly asked to attend training on Monday in preparation for informing affected staff.
AI Tools to Blame Yet Again
CEO Andy Jassy is pushing to streamline operations by cutting down on layers of management and using artificial intelligence to automate routine tasks. Earlier this year, Jassy introduced an anonymous internal system to flag inefficiencies, which resulted in hundreds of process changes. He also warned in June that growing use of AI tools would likely lead to further job cuts.
Analysts believe the upcoming layoffs showcase productivity gains from AI and cost-cutting efforts aimed at offsetting the company’s large infrastructure investments. One factor contributing to the size of the cuts is Amazon’s return-to-office mandate. Some employees who failed to comply due to distance or other reasons have reportedly been classified as having voluntarily resigned and are not being offered severance.
The total number of job losses may still change, depending on Amazon’s financial direction. Reports indicate the HR division alone could face reductions of up to 15%.
More Hiring Incoming
The cuts come as Amazon prepares for a strong holiday sales period, with plans to hire 250,000 seasonal workers. Meanwhile, AWS, Amazon’s largest profit generator, has continued to post slower growth compared to competitors. The unit also faced a major outage last week, disrupting services like Snapchat and Venmo.
Amazon’s stock closed 1.2% higher at $226.97 on Monday. The company is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings on Thursday.