Amazon to Cut 14,000 Jobs, Emphasizing AI-Driven Restructuring

Wed Oct 29 2025 07:23:35 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Amazon has announced plans to reduce its corporate workforce by approximately 14,000 roles, prioritizing leaner operations to adapt to the challenges and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence (AI).

In a significant restructuring move, Amazon will lay off about 14,000 corporate employees, asserting that a leaner organization is essential to capitalize on emerging AI technologies. Despite strong recent financial performance, the management sees a shift towards automation as critical for future competitiveness. The announcement acknowledges past growth yet highlights the necessity for workforce adjustments in response to AI integration and evolving business needs.

Amazon has confirmed it plans to cut thousands of jobs, saying it needs to be organised more leanly to seize the opportunity provided by artificial intelligence (AI).

The tech giant stated on Tuesday that it would reduce its global corporate workforce by approximately 14,000 roles. Earlier reports had suggested it was planning to lay off as many as 30,000 workers.

Beth Galetti, a senior vice president at Amazon, wrote in a note to staff that the move would make the company even stronger by shifting resources to ensure we're investing in our biggest bets and what matters most to our customers' current and future needs.

She acknowledged that some would question the move given the company's recent strong performance, having reported second-quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations, including a 13% year-over-year sales increase to $167.7 billion (£125 billion).

However, Ms. Galetti argued that the cuts were necessary because AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet and facilitates rapid innovation.

We're convicted that we need to be organised more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership, to move as quickly as possible for our customers and business, she stated.

The note shared with Amazon employees emphasized support for affected workers, offering assistance in finding new roles within the company and transition support such as severance pay for those unable to find new positions.

Amazon employs over 1.5 million globally, including approximately 350,000 in various corporate roles. The company had previously ramped up hiring during the Covid-19 pandemic to manage a spike in demand for online services.

CEO Andy Jassy has been focused on reducing expenditures while heavily investing in AI tools to enhance operational efficiency. In past statements, he indicated that increased automation would likely lead to job reductions as machines take over repetitive tasks.

Amazon's corporate division has seen multiple rounds of layoffs in recent years, including about 27,000 employees let go over several months in 2022 as companies sought to adjust after the pandemic hiring spree.

Analysts have raised concerns about Amazon's profit expectations and the rate of growth in its core cloud business, Amazon Web Services (AWS), compared to rivals like Microsoft and Google, which may impact investor confidence regarding the company’s significant investments in AI.

The company's latest quarterly results are expected to be reported soon, reflecting the changes wrought by these strategic decisions.