Amazon has announced the layoff of 14,000 corporate employees, marking a significant shift towards artificial intelligence-driven efficiency, with the company indicating that further job cuts may follow as it adapts to rapid technological changes.
On October 28, 2025, Amazon confirmed it would cut 14,000 corporate roles, with layoffs beginning the following day. The company stated that these reductions are part of a broader strategy to operate more leanly and invest in AI technologies. Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience, emphasized in a memo that the company needs to remove layers and increase ownership to move quickly for customers and business.
The layoffs represent approximately 4% of Amazon’s corporate workforce, which numbers over 350,000 employees. Affected staff will have 90 days to seek new roles within the company, and those unable to find positions will receive severance pay and additional benefits. This move follows earlier reports from Reuters, which first indicated the cuts and suggested they could ultimately reach 30,000, highlighting the scale of the restructuring.
Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy has been vocal about the company’s need to embrace AI, describing it as the most transformative technology since the internet. In a previous blog post, Jassy admitted that AI would reduce the need for human workers in some roles while creating opportunities in others. He envisions Amazon operating like the world’s biggest startup, remaining nimble to capitalize on AI advancements.
The job cuts are not isolated; they come amid a series of layoffs in the tech industry, with companies like Microsoft and others also reducing staff. Amazon itself cut 27,000 jobs in 2023, citing economic pressures. Neil Saunders of GlobalData noted that this reflects a broader trend of shifting from human capital to technological infrastructure in response to market tightness and rising costs.
Generative AI is at the heart of these changes, with fears that automation could replace many jobs. However, experts caution that such concerns may be overstated, as AI is still evolving and its full impact on employment remains uncertain. Jassy has stated that AI will change how billions of people work and live, with AI agents becoming ubiquitous across industries.
The U.S. job market has shown signs of strain, particularly for young tech workers, and Amazon’s layoffs add to these worries. The company plans to continue hiring in strategic areas, prioritizing displaced employees for new roles. This balancing act between cutting costs and investing in future growth underscores the challenges faced by large corporations in the AI era.
Looking ahead, Amazon’s actions signal a pivotal moment in the integration of AI into business operations. While the immediate focus is on efficiency, the long-term implications for the workforce and economy are profound. As AI technology advances, companies will need to navigate the transition carefully, ensuring that innovation does not come at the expense of employment stability.