Amazon to lay off 30,000 corporate staff as AI reshapes roles and pandemic hiring unwinds
Amazon is preparing to lay off up to 30,000 corporate workers, reversing the hiring spree it launched during the pandemic as the company looks to curb costs and adapt to advances in artificial intelligence.
The cuts, due to begin on Tuesday, represent nearly 10% of Amazon’s roughly 350,000 corporate employees and are expected to affect a wide range of departments. The move marks the company’s largest round of layoffs to date, according to reports from Reuters, CNBC and the Wall Street Journal.
Although the cuts amount to a small fraction of Amazon’s overall global workforce of about 1.55 million people, they underscore the scale of the company’s shift from pandemic-era expansion to cost control. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, Amazon experienced a historic surge in online orders and hired aggressively to meet unprecedented demand. That boom has since faded, leaving the company with what executives have called “overcapacity” across several business divisions.
Amazon declined to comment on the reported layoffs. Shares in the Seattle-based firm rose 1.2% on Monday ahead of the company’s quarterly earnings announcement later this week.
The job reductions will affect multiple divisions, including Amazon’s human resources arm — known internally as People Experience and Technology — as well as its devices, services and operations units. Fortune reported that as many as 15% of HR positions could be affected, citing sources familiar with the restructuring.
Managers of affected teams were briefed on Monday and instructed on how to deliver layoff notifications, which are expected to go out via email starting Tuesday morning, Reuters said.
Amazon’s chief executive, Andy Jassy, has spent much of the past two years streamlining the company’s management structure and cutting what he has described as unnecessary bureaucracy. In an internal memo earlier this year, he revealed that employees had submitted more than 1,500 anonymous suggestions for process improvements through a new internal hotline, leading to over 450 operational changes.
Jassy has also warned that advances in artificial intelligence will inevitably lead to a reduction in white-collar headcount. In a memo to employees in June, he wrote that “AI agents and generative systems will mean fewer people are needed in some areas,” and predicted a gradual decline in corporate staffing over the coming years.
The planned layoffs come as major technology companies continue to scale back after pandemic overexpansion. Microsoft, Meta, and Alphabet have all cut tens of thousands of roles since 2022 as interest rates rose and digital growth slowed.
Amazon, which last year surpassed $570 billion in annual revenue, has already implemented several smaller waves of redundancies. In 2024, the company trimmed staff in its communications, podcasting and Alexa divisions, alongside hiring freezes in retail operations and cloud computing.
The new round of cuts is the most sweeping under Jassy’s leadership since he succeeded founder Jeff Bezos as CEO in 2021. Analysts say the move reflects the company’s attempt to reset after a turbulent few years marked by shifting consumer habits, tighter profit margins and growing competition in AI-driven logistics and automation.
While Amazon has not specified which regions or offices will be hardest hit, insiders suggest the majority of reductions will occur across North America and Europe, where the company’s largest corporate teams are based.
Despite the scale of the cuts, investors appeared to welcome the news. The firm’s share price has climbed nearly 20% over the past six months, buoyed by optimism around its artificial intelligence initiatives and improved efficiency in its logistics network