Amazon is embarking on another significant wave of workforce reduction, announcing plans to cut approximately 16,000 corporate positions. This move marks the second major round of layoffs since October and signals a strategic pivot for the e-commerce giant, aligning with a heightened focus on artificial intelligence and operational efficiency.
The company cited an ongoing initiative to “strengthen our organization by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy” as the driving force behind these workforce adjustments. This strategic realignment appears to be a direct response to the rapidly evolving technological landscape, particularly the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence, which Amazon is heavily investing in.
This latest round of cuts follows a substantial reduction of 14,000 employees in October, impacting Amazon’s corporate workforce. At the time, the company had already indicated that further streamlining would occur throughout 2026, with a clear objective to “remove layers.”
Beth Galetti, Amazon’s Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology, acknowledged the possibility of future workforce adjustments but emphasized that the company is not aiming to establish a recurring cycle of broad layoffs. “That’s not our plan,” Galetti stated in a company blog post. “But just as we always have, every team will continue to evaluate the ownership, speed, and capacity to invent for customers, and make adjustments as appropriate.”
A recent internal communication error on Tuesday provided an inadvertent glimpse into these changes, with some employees in Amazon’s cloud division receiving an email acknowledging “organizational changes” and referencing a post from Galetti that mentioned notifying “impacted colleagues.”
As of the third quarter, Amazon’s total employee count stood at around 1.58 million, predominantly comprising fulfillment and logistics staff. The combined job cuts since October, totaling approximately 30,000, represent about 10% of its corporate and tech workforce, which numbers around 350,000 individuals.
This restructuring is part of a broader, multi-year effort by Amazon to optimize its operations. Between 2022 and 2023, the company saw over 27,000 employees depart, with smaller, more targeted cuts occurring throughout 2024. CEO Andy Jassy has been instrumental in this downsizing, aiming to refine the company’s structure following an accelerated hiring phase during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was spurred by a surge in e-commerce and cloud computing demand.
Jassy’s vision for Amazon includes cultivating a culture akin to “the world’s largest startup.” This involves systematically reducing management hierarchies and establishing mechanisms, such as a “no bureaucracy email alias,” to foster faster innovation.
Concurrently, Amazon is actively cutting costs across its diverse business units to reallocate resources towards AI development and the expansion of its data center infrastructure. This strategic shift is evidenced by recent decisions, such as the closure of its Fresh and Go grocery chains after extensive experimentation.
Looking ahead, Amazon has projected capital expenditures to reach $125 billion for 2026, the highest forecast among major technology companies. This significant investment underscores the company’s commitment to future growth, particularly in areas driven by artificial intelligence. Jassy himself noted last June that efficiency gains from AI are expected to lead to a reduction in Amazon’s corporate headcount in the coming years, with a shift towards roles requiring different skill sets. “We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs,” Jassy remarked.
Original article, Author: Tobias. If you wish to reprint this article, please indicate the source:https://aicnbc.com/16732.html
