Amazon has begun its largest workforce reduction since the pandemic, cutting about 14,000 corporate roles as part of its restructuring and focus on artificial intelligence investments. The layoffs impact nearly 4% of Amazon’s 350,000 corporate employees.
The affected staff were notified through an internal email sent by Beth Galetti, Senior Vice President of People Experience & Technology. Some employees also received text messages asking them to check their email or contact HR.
In her email, Galetti wrote to employees, “I have some important, but difficult, news to share with you. After a thorough review of our organization, our priorities, and what we need to focus on going forward, we’ve made the hard business decision to eliminate some roles across Amazon. Unfortunately, your role is being eliminated and your employment will end after a non-working period.”
She added, “We didn’t make these decisions lightly, and we’re committed to supporting you throughout this transition, which will include a non-working period with full pay and benefits, an offer of a severance package, transitional benefits, and access to skills trainings and external job placement support.”
The email also informed employees that their badge access had been restricted, and those present in the office would need to be escorted out by security. During the transition, employees will retain email and internal communication access for 90 days through Amazon’s A to Z portal.
The layoffs come despite Amazon reporting $18 billion in profits last quarter and announcing plans to spend over $120 billion in capital expenditure for 2025, a 50% increase from last year.
CEO Andy Jassy had earlier indicated in a June town hall that efficiency through AI automation would reduce the need for certain corporate roles.
This is Amazon’s largest workforce reduction since the 27,000 layoffs between 2022 and 2023. Reports suggest another round may follow in early 2026, potentially bringing total job cuts to around 30,000.