Amazon is preparing for its biggest corporate downsizing in years, with plans to cut around 30,000 jobs starting Tuesday, media reports said.
The layoffs form part of a sweeping cost-cutting initiative as the company seeks to realign operations following overexpansion during the Covid-19 pandemic, reported Reuters.
While the job cuts represent only a small share of Amazon’s 1.55 million global workforce, they account for 10 per cent of its 350,000 corporate employees. This marks Amazon’s largest restructuring since it eliminated 27,000 positions between late 2022 and early 2023.
Layoffs Across Divisions
The cuts are expected to affect multiple divisions, including Human Resources, Devices and Services, and Operations. The Fortune report earlier suggested that Amazon could slash as much as 15 per cent of its human resources team, known internally as the People Experience and Technology division.
Managers in the affected teams reportedly received training on Monday on how to communicate the layoffs, with official notifications expected to reach employees via email starting Tuesday, the news agency reported, citing sources in the know.
Media reports added that the final number of roles eliminated could still change depending on Amazon’s evolving business priorities.
Over the past two years, Amazon has steadily reduced headcount across several units. Bloomberg previously reported that the Wondery podcast division saw about 110 job losses, while several hundred roles were trimmed from its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud unit in July 2025. Earlier in May, nearly 100 employees were let go from the Devices and Services division.
CEO Jassy’s Push for Leaner Management
Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy has been driving efforts to reduce what he described as “excess bureaucracy” within the organisation. Under his leadership, Amazon has eliminated several layers of management and introduced an anonymous internal feedback mechanism aimed at identifying inefficiencies.
Reports suggest that this initiative generated over 1,500 employee responses, leading to around 450 changes in company processes. Jassy has positioned these efforts as part of a broader strategy to make Amazon more agile, competitive, and focused on core growth areas.
AI and Automation: The Next Frontier
Artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly prominent role in Amazon’s restructuring strategy. Jassy has acknowledged that AI-driven automation will reshape jobs within the organisation. “Those who embrace this change, become conversant in AI, help us build and improve our AI capabilities internally and deliver for customers, will be well-positioned to have high impact and help us reinvent the company,” Jassy said in June 2025.
This focus on automation aligns with Amazon’s broader technological ambitions but also underscores the shifting employment dynamics within the tech industry.
Seasonal Hiring Amid Layoffs
Even as Amazon trims its corporate workforce, it plans to hire 250,000 seasonal workers ahead of the upcoming holiday season to manage increased demand. This dual strategy reflects the company’s effort to balance operational efficiency with market-driven growth needs.
The company is scheduled to release its third-quarter earnings report on Thursday (local time).
Tech Industry Layoffs Continue in 2025
Amazon’s move comes amid a broader wave of job cuts across the global tech sector. Data from Layoffs.fyi indicates that nearly 98,000 tech jobs have been lost in 2025 so far across 216 companies, following 153,000 layoffs in 2024. The trend reflects ongoing consolidation and efficiency drives within the industry as companies recalibrate for the next phase of growth.
