Amazon plans to cut about 16,000 corporate jobs, its second big round of layoffs in three months. The company is relying more on generative artificial intelligence and reorganizing after growing quickly during the pandemic.
Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice-president, said the company is “reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy” to make operations more efficient. She did not say which divisions or locations would be affected.
These new cuts come after Amazon announced 14,000 job losses in October, some of which just finished. Galetti said U.S. employees will have 90 days to find new jobs at Amazon. Those who do not will get severance, health benefits, and help finding new work.
CEO Andy Jassy, who took over from Jeff Bezos in 2021, has focused on cutting costs. He has said that AI will change Amazon’s corporate workforce in the future. These layoffs are the biggest since 2023, when Amazon cut 27,000 jobs.
Amazon’s workforce doubled during the pandemic as online shopping grew, but now the company is cutting back like other tech and retail firms. Even with these cuts, Amazon is still financially strong. Last quarter, profits rose nearly 40 percent to $21 billion, and revenue went over $180 billion.
Jassy says the layoffs are not because of financial problems, but because of changes in the company’s culture and structure. “When you grow as fast as we did, you end up with more people, more layers, and more complexity,” he said last year.
The wider U.S. job market is also showing caution. Only 50,000 jobs were added in December. Many companies that grew quickly during the pandemic are now cutting back, blaming inflation, trade policy uncertainty, and the rise of artificial intelligence.
Other companies have also announced job cuts this week. UPS plans to cut up to 30,000 jobs through attrition and buyouts, after cutting 34,000 jobs last year. Pinterest said it will lay off nearly 15 percent of its staff as it puts more resources into AI projects.
Amazon’s shares, based in Seattle, edged higher in pre-market trading on Wednesday, even after the layoff news.
