Amazon (AMZN.O) announced plans to lay off about 14,000 corporate employees worldwide, part of a broader restructuring as the company accelerates its artificial intelligence (AI) investments and automation efforts. The total cuts could reach 30,000 employees over time, according to internal communications seen by Reuters.
The move represents one of the largest corporate downsizings in Amazon’s history, affecting divisions including devices, advertising, Prime Video, human resources, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). CEO Andy Jassy had previously warned that the increasing use of AI tools would likely lead to reductions in administrative and support roles as the company seeks to automate routine operations.
Amazon’s corporate workforce currently numbers about 350,000, out of 1.56 million total employees globally. The layoffs, communicated via personal email early Tuesday morning, informed staff that their “role is being eliminated” and offered them 90 days to apply for internal roles, with priority given by recruitment teams.
Senior vice president Beth Galetti said in a company memo that the restructuring is part of a longer-term plan to “move faster, simplify management layers, and lean more on AI.” The company emphasized that while some departments are shrinking, others will continue to hire — particularly in AI, cloud infrastructure, and logistics automation.
The layoffs come amid Amazon’s massive $118 billion annual investment plan, with a significant portion devoted to AI data centers and cloud technology. Analysts say the company is realigning its workforce to maintain competitiveness in an AI-driven economy dominated by rivals such as Microsoft, Google, and Nvidia.
Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers are scrutinizing Amazon’s automation strategy. Senator Bernie Sanders criticized the company for what he called the “replacement of hundreds of thousands of workers with robots,” while other senators questioned its heavy reliance on foreign H-1B visa holders amid large domestic job cuts.
Despite the internal turmoil, Amazon shares edged up slightly in premarket trading and remain up 3.5% this year, the weakest gain among the so-called “Magnificent Seven” tech giants.
