Amazon has drawn up a plan to cut up to 30,000 corporate jobs, with the process expected to begin today (Tuesday). The move is aimed at reducing costs and balancing out the effects of over-hiring that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to sources, this round of layoffs will affect only a small portion of Amazon’s total 1.55 million employees, but it represents nearly 10% of its 350,000-strong corporate workforce.
This will mark Amazon’s largest wave of job cuts since 2022, when the company eliminated around 27,000 positions. Amazon has declined to comment on the matter.
Sources indicate that the upcoming layoffs will impact several divisions, including Human Resources, Operations, Devices & Services, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Managers of affected teams have reportedly received communication training before issuing notifications to employees.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has been leading an internal campaign to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy at the management level, which includes trimming the number of managers. He has stated that the growing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) is automating many repetitive tasks — a trend that could result in further job reductions in the future.
Sky Canivez, an analyst at eMarketer, noted that AI-driven productivity gains have enabled Amazon to reach a point where it can afford to reduce its corporate workforce.
Sources further revealed that the Human Resources Division could face cuts of around 15%. Additionally, under Amazon’s return-to-office policy, employees with persistently low attendance are being treated as voluntary resignations and subsequently terminated.
Amazon’s stock rose 1.2% on Monday, closing at $226.97 per share. The company is scheduled to announce its third-quarter financial results on Thursday.
