30,000 Roles Cut as the Biggest Amazon Layoffs Yet, Hit Next Week

Listen to This Article

Amazon layoffs are targeting white-collar roles again. Get the latest on the significant job cuts hitting HR and other key departments.

Amazon is preparing for yet another wave of corporate layoffs as early as next week. The e-commerce giant is expected to cut thousands of white-collar roles, a move that marks the second phase of a broader restructuring plan aiming to eliminate approximately 30,000 corporate positions.

The notifications could begin rolling out as soon as Tuesday, targeting key divisions including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Retail, Prime Video, and the company’s human resources arm, known internally as People Experience and Technology (PXT).

A ‘Culture’ Shift, Not Just Cost-Cutting? 

While layoffs are often synonymous with financial distress, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has painted a different picture for this restructuring. Though earlier internal memos hinted at Artificial Intelligence (AI) acting as a catalyst for efficiency, Jassy recently clarified to analysts that the decision is "not really financially driven and it’s not even really AI-driven."

Instead, the leadership is pointing the finger at ‘culture.’ The goal is to strip away what Jassy describes as excessive bureaucracy. 

"You end up with a lot more people than what you had before, and you end up with a lot more layers," he noted during a recent earnings call. 

The strategy is clear: flatten the organization to reclaim the agility of a startup, even if it means saying goodbye to nearly 10% of the corporate workforce.

The Scale of the Shake-Up

This upcoming round is expected to mirror the scale of the cuts seen last October, where roughly 14,000 employees were let go. When combined, these reductions would represent the largest layoff event in Amazon's three-decade history, surpassing the 27,000 jobs cut between 2022 and 2023.

The timing adds a layer of tension for the workforce. The 90-day transition period for employees affected by the October layoffs is set to expire this coming Monday, just hours before the new round is rumored to begin. Those impacted in the previous wave were given time to find internal roles or new employment, a benefit likely to be extended to this new group as well.

What’s Next 

For the 1.5 million-strong global workforce, most of whom work in fulfillment centers and remain largely unaffected by this specific round, business continues as usual. However, for the Seattle-based corporate staff and satellite offices worldwide, the atmosphere is heavy with anticipation.

As the tech industry continues to grapple with the balance between human talent and AI-driven efficiency, Amazon’s "Year of Efficiency" is proving to be a prolonged and painful transformation.