Amazon to lay off 30,000 corporate staff as AI reshape operations

Amazon is preparing to lay off as many as 30,000 corporate employees beginning Tuesday, in what would be its largest round of job cuts since 2022.

The move comes as the e-commerce and cloud giant seeks to trim costs, streamline operations, and offset the effects of overhiring during the pandemic boom.

According to Reuters exclusive report citing people familiar with the matter, the planned reduction represents about 10% of Amazon’s 350,000-strong corporate workforce but only a small portion of its total global headcount of roughly 1.55 million employees.

The job cuts will affect multiple divisions, including human resources known internally as the People Experience and Technology (PXT) group, as well as operations, devices and services, and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Eliminating ‘excess bureaucracy’ 

The layoffs form part of CEO Andy Jassy’s broader campaign to eliminate what he has described as “excess bureaucracy” within the organization.

• Over the past year, Jassy has taken several steps to simplify Amazon’s management structure, even introducing an anonymous feedback channel that has generated more than 1,500 employee suggestions and resulted in over 450 process changes.
• Jassy has also acknowledged that the growing integration of artificial intelligence across the company is reshaping roles and workflows.
• In June, he hinted that the use of AI tools would likely reduce the need for repetitive, manual tasks,  a view echoed by industry analysts.

“Amazon is likely realizing enough AI-driven productivity gains within corporate teams to support a substantial reduction in force,” said Sky Canaves, an eMarketer analyst, adding that the move also aligns with short-term pressure to offset heavy investments in AI infrastructure.

Managers briefed 

Managers overseeing affected teams were reportedly briefed on Monday and trained on how to communicate the layoffs, with email notifications expected to begin Tuesday morning.

• The exact scope of the cuts remains fluid, and some insiders say numbers could shift depending on Amazon’s financial priorities. Reports suggest the HR division could be hit hardest, with potential reductions of up to 15%.
• Beyond cost-saving measures, the company has also been enforcing stricter office attendance rules. Employees are now required to be physically present five days a week, one of the toughest return-to-office mandates in the tech industry.
• Those who fail to comply, including remote workers living far from Amazon offices, are being treated as having voluntarily resigned, saving the company from severance payments.

(Nairametrics)