ABP Live Deep Dive: Amazon’s layoffs are no longer new, but the impact, especially on Indian employees, needs a proper explanation. Over the past year, Amazon has cut close to 30,000 jobs globally, including around 16,000 roles in the most recent phase. While the company framed this as a global restructuring, internal messages, employee discussions, and leadership memos confirm that India was clearly part of the layoff cycle.
These cuts were not random. They were part of a long-delayed organisational reset that finally reached Indian teams.
Why Amazon Layoffs Happened & Why India Was Included
Amazon has explained that the layoffs were not sudden. They were the final outcome of a restructuring exercise that started months earlier. During the pandemic, Amazon hired aggressively across the world, including in India, to meet rising demand in e-commerce and cloud services.
Over time, the company felt its internal structure had become too layered and slow. Decision-making took longer, and teams had overlapping responsibilities. To fix this, Amazon decided to reduce management layers and streamline operations.
India is deeply integrated into Amazon’s global workforce. Many Indian teams work directly with global systems, products, and customers.
So when Amazon decided to reshape its organisation globally, Indian offices were naturally part of that decision.
As reported by Business Standard, Amazon did not announce separate country-wise numbers, but internal updates made it clear that India was among the affected regions.
Which Amazon India Teams Were Impacted By The Layoffs
The layoffs in India were not limited to a single function. Multiple corporate and technology teams were affected, particularly those linked to Amazon Web Services (AWS) and retail operations.
Some impacted teams were connected to cloud services, artificial intelligence platforms, data management, consulting units, and delivery experience operations.
A large number of affected employees were software engineers, which surprised many in the industry.
India has long been seen as Amazon’s technology backbone. The fact that engineering and cloud roles were impacted shows that these cuts were about restructuring, not performance issues.
Employees who lost their roles reportedly used internal communication channels to seek referrals and job leads, highlighting how widespread the impact was across Indian corporate teams.
How Amazon Managed Layoffs For Indian Employees
The layoff process in India followed a different timeline compared to the US. This is mainly due to local labour laws and consultation requirements.
In the US, most employees were given a 90-day window to apply for other internal roles. In India, notifications happened gradually, and in some cases, later than in Western markets.
Amazon leadership stated that affected employees would receive transition support based on local regulations. This could include severance pay, notice period compensation, and access to employee assistance programmes.
However, the slower communication process also created uncertainty among Indian employees, many of whom only learned about the scale of layoffs after global announcements were already public.
What Amazon Layoffs Mean For India’s Tech Workforce
The layoffs do not mean Amazon is pulling back from India. The company continues to invest in e-commerce infrastructure, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence in the country.
But the message is clear: India is no longer treated as a separate growth market. It is fully part of Amazon’s global corporate structure. When global cost-cutting or restructuring happens, Indian employees are equally affected.
For Indian tech professionals, this marks a shift in how job security is viewed in large tech firms. Even high-skill roles are now subject to global strategy changes.
In the long term, the layoffs show how global tech companies are prioritising efficiency, automation, and AI, while reducing roles that no longer fit their future plans.
