Amazon Plans Additional 2025 Workforce Reductions
Amazon is preparing to launch a second round of corporate job cuts next week as part of a broader restructuring plan to eliminate roughly 30,000 white-collar positions, according to people familiar with the matter.
The tech giant already laid off approximately 14,000 corporate employees in October — about half of the 30,000 target first reported by Reuters. The next wave is expected to be similar in size and could start as soon as Tuesday, sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because Amazon’s internal plans are confidential.
An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment on the reported layoffs.
Units Impacted Include AWS, Retail and Prime Video
The cuts are expected to hit several key business units, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), retail operations, Prime Video and human resources, the sources noted. The full scope of the reductions remains unclear and could change as plans evolve.
Amazon employs roughly 1.58 million people worldwide, making it one of the largest employers in the United States. The planned 30,000 cuts represent nearly 10% of the company’s corporate workforce, though a small fraction of its total headcount, much of which works in fulfillment centers and warehouses.
AI and Corporate “Culture” Cited in Restructuring
Amazon tied the October layoffs to the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence technologies, calling AI “the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet” in an internal memo.
However, CEO Andy Jassy later told analysts that the reductions are “not really financially driven and it’s not even really AI-driven,” instead pointing to organizational complexity and excess layers of management.
“You end up with a lot more people than what you had before, and you end up with a lot more layers,” Jassy said, adding that Amazon’s corporate workforce would shrink over time as AI increases operational efficiency.
Across the U.S., major companies are increasingly deploying generative AI tools to write software code, automate administrative tasks and reduce reliance on human labor. Amazon highlighted its newest AI models at its annual AWS cloud conference in December.
Largest Corporate Layoff in Amazon’s 30-Year History
If completed, the restructuring would amount to the largest corporate layoff in Amazon’s three-decade history. The company eliminated roughly 27,000 jobs in 2022 as the pandemic-era e-commerce surge began to cool.
Workers affected by the October cuts were kept on Amazon’s payroll for 90 days while they sought internal transfers or external employment — a period that expires Monday.
