Amazon layoffs: Online retail giant reduces corporate job cuts to 14,000? Here is the truth

Amazon will cut about 14,000 corporate jobs as the online retail giant ramps up spending on artificial intelligence while cutting costs elsewhere. Amazon has about 350,000 corporate employees and a total workforce of approximately 1.56 million. The cuts announced on Tuesday amount to about a 4 per cent reduction in its corporate workforce. The cuts announced on Tuesday suggests Amazon is still trying to get the size of its workforce right and it may not be over. It was the biggest culling at Amazon since 2023, when the company cut 27,000 jobs. Those cuts came in waves, with 9,000 jobs trimmed in March of that year, and another 18,000 employees two months later. Amazon has not said if more job cuts are coming, AP reported.

Amazon will post quarterly financial results on Thursday. During its most recent quarter, the company reported 17.5 per cent growth for its cloud computing arm Amazon Web Services.

On Tuesday, the online giant said it was reducing bureaucracy.


“The reductions we’re sharing today are a continuation of this work to get even stronger by further reducing bureaucracy, removing layers, and shifting resources to ensure we’re investing in our biggest bets and what matters most to our customers’ current and future needs,” Beth Galetti, Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology at Amazon, said in message to employees Tuesday.

Teams and individuals impacted by the job cuts will be notified on Tuesday. Most workers will be given 90 days to look for a new position internally, Galetti said. For those who can't find a new role at the company or who opt not to look for one will be provided transitional support including severance pay, outplacement services and health insurance benefits.

Government data on hiring is on hold during during the government shut down, but earlier this month a survey by payroll company ADP showed a surprising loss of 32,000 jobs losses in the private sector in September.

Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, said in a statement that the layoffs “represent a deep cleaning of Amazon's corporate workforce.”

“Unlike the Target layoffs, Amazon is operating from a position of strength,” he said. “The company has been producing good growth, and it still has a lot of headroom for further expansion in both the U.S. and overseas.”

But Saunders noted that Amazon is not immune to outside factors, as global markets tighten and underlying costs climb.

FAQs

Q1. How many jobs cut has been announced by Amazon?
A1. Amazon will cut about 14,000 corporate jobs.

Q2. When will Amazon jobs cut be notified?
A2. Teams and individuals impacted by the job cuts will be notified on Tuesday.