Amazon announces they are laying off 16,000 corporate employees

Amazon announces they are laying off 16,000 corporate employees

• Amazon to cut 16,000 jobs worldwide in its second major layoff in three months
• Layoffs target corporate roles as Amazon restructures and expands AI adoption
• Affected US employees get 90 days to find new roles, plus severance and benefits

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Tech giant Amazon said on January 28 it was cutting 16,000 jobs worldwide in the second major round of layoffs at the company in ​three months to ratchet its efforts to restructure after pandemic-era over-hiring and expand the adoption of ‌artificial intelligence tools.

The job cuts arrive a few months after the company announced it was reducing 14,000 roles. Combined, the total number of terminations echoes the rolling layoffs Amazon instituted in late 2022 and early 2023 that ultimately snared about 27,000 people.

"The reductions we are making today will impact approximately 16,000 roles across Amazon, and we're again working hard to support everyone whose role is impacted. That starts with offering most US-based employees 90 days to look for a new role internally (timing will vary internationally based on local and country level requirements). Then, for teammates who are unable to find a new role at Amazon or who choose not to look for one, we'll provide transition support including severance pay, outplacement services, health insurance benefits (as applicable), and more," said Beth Galetti, Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology at Amazon.

“We’ve been working to strengthen our organization by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy,” Galetti said.

While the company employed a total of about 1.57 million people as of September 30, most of them work in warehouses. The corporate workforce comprises about 350,000 personnel, meaning the latest cuts represent about 4.6% of that headcount.

"Some of you might ask if this is the beginning of a new rhythm – where ‍we announce broad reductions every few months. That's not our plan," Galetti added.

Amazon wants fewer management layers, less bureaucracy, and faster decision-making. CEO Andy Jassy has also repeatedly pointed to artificial intelligence as a force that will reshape the company’s workforce, saying efficiency gains from AI are likely to shrink Amazon’s corporate headcount over time.

Tech giants, including Amazon, Facebook-parent Meta Platforms, and Microsoft had sharply ramped up hiring during the COVID-19 pandemic demand surge and have lately been restructuring their workforce.

Amazon has also been investing in ​robotics at its warehouses to speed up packaging and ‍deliveries for its e-commerce segment, reduce the reliance on human labour and cutting costs.

The company is set to report ​quarterly results on February 5.