Amazon Announces Second Major Layoff Round, 14,000 Corporate Jobs at Risk
Amazon is preparing for another significant workforce reduction, with approximately 14,000 corporate positions set to be eliminated starting next week, according to Reuters. This marks the company's second major layoff since October 2025, bringing Amazon's total planned job cuts to around 30,000 roles—the largest workforce reduction in the e-commerce giant's three-decade history.
Scale and Scope of the Upcoming Layoffs
The e-commerce behemoth initially eliminated about 14,000 white-collar positions in October, and the upcoming round is expected to mirror that substantial scale. Employees across several key divisions are likely to be affected, including:
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Retail operations
- Prime Video
- The human resources division, known internally as People Experience and Technology (PXT)
Reuters reported these details citing sources familiar with the company's internal discussions and planning.
CEO Shifts Narrative from AI to Company Culture
While Amazon's October layoffs were initially attributed to the transformative impact of artificial intelligence, CEO Andy Jassy later clarified the actual motivation during a third-quarter earnings call. "It's not really financially driven and it's not even really AI-driven. It's culture," Jassy explained, pointing to excessive bureaucracy and organizational bloat as the primary concerns driving these workforce reductions.
This contradictory messaging, according to industry analysts, highlights Amazon's ongoing struggle to communicate its restructuring strategy effectively. In an October memo, the company had described AI as "the most transformative technology we've seen since the Internet," suggesting it was driving faster innovation and organizational changes. However, Jassy's subsequent comments reframed the cuts as an effort to eliminate layers of management and restore the company's startup-like agility and efficiency.
Workforce Reduction Amid Strong Business Performance
The planned reductions represent nearly 10% of Amazon's approximately 350,000 corporate employees, though they account for less than 2% of the company's total 1.58 million workforce, most of whom work in warehouses and fulfillment centers across the globe.
Beth Galetti, Amazon's Senior Vice President of PXT, acknowledged the apparent paradox in an internal memo: "Some may ask why we're reducing roles when the company is performing well." She emphasized that staying competitive in today's dynamic market requires being "organized more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership" throughout the organization.
Support Systems and Internal Changes
Affected employees from the October round were given 90 days to find internal positions or seek external employment—a period that expires Monday. The company is offering similar support for the upcoming cuts, including:
- Severance pay packages
- Outplacement services
- Extended health insurance benefits
Jassy has also implemented an anonymous complaint system to identify organizational inefficiencies, which has generated over 1,500 responses and prompted more than 450 process changes. The CEO's broader initiative includes a strict five-day in-office mandate, among the tech industry's most stringent return-to-office policies, though sources told Reuters it hasn't generated the voluntary attrition Amazon anticipated.
This massive restructuring comes at a time when Amazon continues to demonstrate strong business performance, creating what appears to be a strategic paradox. The company's leadership maintains that these difficult decisions are necessary to maintain competitiveness and organizational health in an increasingly challenging global marketplace.
