Corporate layoffs
Amazon announced another major round of corporate layoffs. This marks the largest workforce reduction in the company’s history. The company plans to eliminate about 16,000 white-collar jobs in the coming weeks. This follows roughly 14,000 corporate layoffs announced in late 2025. Once completed, total job losses will reach nearly 30,000. The cuts are focused on corporate employees, not warehouse or delivery workers. Amazon employs around 1.57 million people globally, with about 350,000 working in corporate roles. People familiar with the matter say affected employees may begin receiving notices as early as next week.
CEO's say
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has said the layoffs are part of a plan to reduce internal bureaucracy. During the pandemic, Amazon hired aggressively to meet rising demand. Over time, this created multiple layers of management that slowed decisions and execution. Jassy has told employees that the company needs to move faster and become more efficient. Amazon says the goal is to remove roles that mainly coordinate work, while keeping teams that directly build products, run operations, or generate revenue. The company has stressed that entire business units are not being shut down. Instead, the focus is on simplifying how teams are managed.
Affected departments
Amazon has not shared an official list of departments facing cuts. However, based on previous layoffs, corporate and managerial roles are most exposed. These include program management, recruiting, human resources, and some non-core product teams. Major divisions such as Amazon Web Services, Prime Video, and the core retail business are also expected to see job losses, mainly in management and support roles. Warehouse workers and frontline operations are not the focus of the current layoffs.
Larger market
Amazon’s decision comes as the US job market weakens. In 2025, companies across sectors announced large job cuts as hiring slowed and costs rose. Telecom, logistics, media, and technology firms have all reduced staff. Companies such as Verizon, UPS, Meta, and Microsoft have also announced layoffs, even while investing heavily in AI. Many firms are cutting traditional roles to fund long-term technology projects. At the same time, Amazon continues to invest in AI, cloud services, and automation. While the company says AI is not the direct cause of the layoffs, it remains central to its future strategy.
