Washington, United States. Amazon confirmed 16,000 corporate job cuts on Wednesday, completing a plan for about 30,000 reductions since October while leaving open the possibility of further layoffs.
Scale of layoffs and corporate impact
Amazon said the cuts represent a small portion of its 1.58 million employees, most of whom work in fulfillment centers and warehouses. The reductions amount to nearly 10% of its corporate workforce and represent the company’s largest job cuts in its three-decade history, surpassing the 27,000 cuts made between late 2022 and early 2023.
Company rationale and leadership statements
Beth Galetti, Amazon’s top human resources executive, said the job cuts were needed to strengthen the company by “reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy.” Galetti said some teams will continue to “make adjustments as appropriate,” leaving open the possibility of additional reductions.
Galetti also said Amazon does not plan to announce broad reductions every few months.
Recent restructuring and business changes
The latest cuts mark the second major round of layoffs in three months, after Amazon cut 14,000 jobs in October, citing artificial intelligence and concerns over shifting corporate culture.
Amazon has also said it overhired during the COVID-19 pandemic, when online shopping demand increased sharply. On Tuesday, the company said it was closing its remaining bricks-and-mortar Fresh grocery stores and Go markets and was dropping its Amazon One biometric payment system.
Internal communication to AWS staff
Amazon on Tuesday mistakenly sent an email to some Amazon Web Services staff that appeared to refer to the layoff plan as “Project Dawn,” unsettling thousands of workers.
How do you think these corporate job cuts could affect Amazon’s long-term business strategy?