Amazon has announced plans to eliminate 16,000 roles across its global operations, marking its second major layoff in three months and highlighting the growing impact of artificial intelligence and automation on the company’s workforce strategy.
The cuts are part of a wider initiative to reduce 30,000 corporate positions, with affected teams spanning Amazon Web Services (AWS), retail, Prime Video, and human resources.
Corporate Roles Bear the Brunt
Although the scale of the layoffs is substantial, the 30,000 positions represent a small fraction of Amazon’s 1.58 million global employees. However, they make up close to 10% of the company’s corporate workforce, as the majority of Amazon staff are employed in warehouses and fulfilment centres.
The reductions come amid ongoing internal restructuring, as the company seeks to streamline operations and bring costs under tighter control.
Rolling Back Pandemic-Era Hiring
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon expanded rapidly, adding staff across nearly every division to cope with surging online demand, supply chain disruptions, and logistical complexity.
As consumer behaviour stabilised and inefficiencies became more apparent, aggressive expansion began to weigh on margins. Amazon is now scaling back its pandemic-driven workforce growth, particularly in retail, cloud services, and hardware units.
AI Adoption Accelerates Workforce Changes
A central factor behind the layoffs is Amazon’s accelerating use of AI and automation.
With AWS anchoring its leadership in global cloud infrastructure, Amazon’s executives increasingly view AI as a way to simplify internal processes, boost productivity, and reduce long-term staffing needs.
In June, employees were informed that wider AI deployment would likely lead to a smaller corporate workforce over time, as automated systems take on more operational tasks.
Earlier, when the company cut 14,000 white-collar jobs in October, CEO Andy Jassy pointed to the need to reduce bureaucracy by trimming management layers and speeding up decision-making
Macroeconomic Pressures Intensify Cost Controls
Beyond technological shifts, Amazon is also navigating a challenging economic environment, shaped by:
- Higher interest rates
- Persistent inflation
- Softer consumer spending globally
These conditions have pressured profitability across Amazon’s retail, cloud, and device businesses, reinforcing the need for tighter cost management.
A Long Pattern of Workforce Reductions
The latest announcement continues a trend that began several years ago. Between late 2022 and 2023, Amazon cut roughly 27,000 corporate jobs across divisions, including AWS, advertising, devices, communications, and experimental units.
Further reductions followed in 2025, including:
- Job losses in communications and sustainability teams
- Approximately 100 roles eliminated in the Devices & Services division, affecting products such as Alexa and Kindle
The current 30,000-role reduction represents the largest workforce cut in Amazon’s history.
Robotics and Automation Gain Momentum
While corporate roles are being reduced, Amazon is continuing to scale up investments in robotics and automated systems within its warehouses to improve efficiency and accelerate delivery times.
This shift reflects a wider movement across the tech industry. Companies such as Meta Platforms and Microsoft are also restructuring their workforces as AI-powered tools and digital agents increasingly replace routine and complex tasks alike.
AI’s Growing Impact on Tech Jobs
Amazon’s latest layoffs underscore a broader reality: AI scalability is transforming how tech companies operate, allowing them to achieve higher output with fewer employees.
From back-office administration to software development and logistics optimisation, AI-driven productivity is redefining workforce needs, often reducing demand for traditional corporate roles.
