An unfortunate but expected update has been issued by Amazon. The Jeff Bezos-led tech giant has announced another massive round of layoffs, cutting approximately 16,000 corporate roles just three months after implementing a previous reduction. This brings the company’s total workforce reductions this cycle to around 30,000, its largest since the pandemic era and a giant indicator of how the company’s strategy is changing.
Despite reporting strong profits, Amazon has stressed the need to streamline its operations and sync with changing technological demands. Central to this transformation is the adoption of AI and automation, which executives say will improve efficiency but will also reduce the need for many traditional roles. As one of the world’s largest employers, Amazon’s decisions carry myriad implications for the future of work and corporate strategy in an age increasingly defined by super-fast technological change.
Amazon’s Latest Layoffs Explained and the Role of AI
Amazon’s latest announcement affects around 16,000 employees across various corporate functions, and is the second substantial workforce reduction in just three months. In a statement, senior vice-president Beth Galetti said that teams that had not completed planned organisational restructuring during the previous round of layoffs have now done so, leading to this additional action.
Moreover, top executives at Amazon have openly acknowledged the transformative impact of AI on their work. Generative AI tools are becoming more and more capable of automating routine administrative duties, data analysis, coding tasks, and other functions that once required a lot of human labour. According to multiple reports, Amazon has been accelerating its AI investments, pouring tens of billions of dollars into data centres, cloud infrastructure, and advanced machine learning capabilities in an effort to compete with rivals such as Microsoft.
Furthermore, the company’s leader, Andy Jassy, has previously said that such adoption will inevitably shrink the need for certain corporate roles. But a probable implication is that it creates demand in other areas. Despite the story around AI, Amazon reportedly insists that this round of layoffs does not signal a regular cadence of job cuts every few months. Galetti has also reportedly said that the company will continue to optimise its structures ‘as appropriate’ while maintaining investment in growth areas.
Amazon’s Previous Layoffs
This round of layoffs is not a first-time event for Amazon. In October 2025, the company announced it was cutting approximately 14,000 white-collar jobs, representing around 4% of its corporate workforce at the time.
That decision was described by senior executives as a way to reduce bureaucracy, flatten organisational structures, and free up resources to focus on innovation and ‘biggest bets’ such as AI. Like the latest round, it came in the middle of a notable investment in AI and cloud computing infrastructure.
These cuts build on earlier reported reductions reported in 2022 and 2023, when Amazon eliminated around 27,000 positions as part of post-pandemic change. Many people see Amazon’s pattern of job cuts as part of a bigger trend affecting major technology companies.
Firms such as Microsoft and Meta have also announced huge layoffs in the past, usually giving similar reasons such as restructuring to improve efficiency, focusing on strategic priorities like AI, and moving away from roles that can be automated. These changes reflect a broader realignment in the tech sector as investment in AI and machine learning accelerates and companies seek to contain costs in the face of economic uncertainties.
Originally published on IBTimes UK
