Amazon set for further job cuts amid restructuring and AI shift

Amazon is preparing to implement another round of job cuts, extending a multi-phase workforce reduction that has already removed thousands of corporate roles as the company restructures for slower growth and increased use of artificial intelligence.

The latest Amazon layoffs are expected to begin this week and could bring Amazon’s total white-collar job losses to around 30,000, according to media reports. Reuters had earlier reported that the company cut approximately 14,000 corporate roles in October, accounting for nearly half of the planned reductions.

The new round of cuts is expected to impact several major business units, including Amazon Web Services, retail operations, Prime Video and the People Experience and Technology human resources division, according to reports. Amazon has not publicly confirmed the final number of positions to be eliminated or the exact timing across different teams.

The move comes as the 90-day internal job-search window for employees affected by the October layoffs expires. This process allows impacted staff to seek redeployment within the company before their roles are formally terminated. The expiry of this period is expected to trigger one of the largest single waves of corporate job losses in Amazon’s history.

Chief executive Andy Jassy has previously said the job cuts are part of a broader effort to simplify Amazon’s organisational structure and improve decision-making speed. In comments reported earlier by Reuters, Jassy said the company had built up too many layers of management during its rapid expansion in the pandemic period.

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At the same time, Amazon has positioned artificial intelligence as a core driver of its next phase of growth. In a recent communication to shareholders, the company described generative AI as the most transformative technology since the internet, highlighting its potential to reshape productivity across Amazon’s businesses.

Amazon employs about 1.58 million people globally, the majority of whom work in warehouses and fulfilment centres. The current layoffs are concentrated in corporate and technology roles and are estimated to affect close to 10 per cent of the company’s white-collar workforce.