Amazon Slashes 16,000 Jobs in Major Restructuring Push Amid Tech Sector Turmoil
Amazon has announced plans to cut approximately 16,000 corporate jobs, marking the second significant wave of layoffs since October and intensifying concerns over the tech industry’s ongoing workforce reductions.[1][2][5]
The move, detailed in a memo from Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, aims to streamline the company’s structure by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy. This brings the total layoffs since last fall to around 30,000 positions, affecting roughly 9% of Amazon’s corporate workforce of about 350,000 employees.[1][3][5]
Organizational Overhaul, Not AI-Driven Cuts
Amazon emphasizes that these cuts are not primarily driven by artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, despite the technology’s transformative impact on the sector. Galetti stated in October that AI represents “the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the internet,” but the company clarified that the vast majority of eliminations stem from structural efficiencies rather than automation.[1][2]
CEO Andy Jassy echoed this during the company’s recent earnings call, describing the reductions as neither financially motivated nor AI-led, but necessary to eliminate unnecessary management layers slowing innovation.[2] Amazon plans to continue hiring in strategic areas like data, automation, and analytics, while offering affected U.S. employees 90 days to seek internal roles, followed by severance, outplacement services, and health benefits.[5]
Impacts on Teams and Regions
While Amazon has not officially disclosed affected teams, an internal analysis using the company’s AI tool Pippin—shared on Slack by an employee—highlighted potential cuts in areas including AWS, Alexa, Bedrock, Redshift, ProServe consulting, Prime subscriptions, and last-mile delivery.[4] The AI-generated list, based on internal conversations, carries caveats for accuracy, and Amazon has not verified it.[4]
The layoffs extend beyond corporate roles. Amazon is shuttering its Amazon Fresh grocery (57 locations) and Amazon Go convenience stores (15 locations) in most states, with closures by early March in California due to regulations. Affected workers will receive pay through April 28.[2] This follows successes in in-house logistics and robotics, including halving reliance on third-party carriers like UPS.[2]
In Seattle, Amazon’s headquarters, the cuts could exacerbate local unemployment, already at 5.1%—above the national 4.4%—rippling through tech and retail partners.[2]
Broader Industry Layoff Wave
Amazon’s actions align with a surging trend: U.S. employers axed over 1.2 million jobs in 2025, the highest since the 2008 crisis, with hiring at a 2010 low.[3] UPS, hit by Amazon’s logistics shift, announced 30,000 cuts in 2026 via its “Network of the Future,” atop 48,000 in 2025, deploying AI-driven hubs.[3]
Tech peers like Microsoft, Meta, and Verizon also trimmed staff amid AI investments. Experts like Rutgers’ Zeki Pagda note challenges retraining logistics workers for AI roles, signaling a shift to fewer, specialized positions.[1] Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warns AI could displace half of entry-level white-collar jobs soon, potentially spiking unemployment to 10-20%.[3]
Financial Strength Amid Cuts
Despite the reductions, Amazon reported robust finances: $56.4 billion in profits for the first nine months of 2025 and $180 billion in third-quarter revenue, up 13% year-over-year.[3] UPS logged $5.5 billion in net income last year.[3]
Critics argue these technologies, under capitalism, weaponize automation against workers, imposing speedups and job loss rather than reducing toil.[3] Amazon insists broad reductions every few months are not planned, with ongoing evaluations for agility.[5]
Worker Support and Future Outlook
Galetti’s memo underscores support for those impacted, but the scale underscores tech’s pivot. As Amazon invests in AI and logistics, the job market faces turbulence, with outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas tracking the escalation.[3]
This restructuring positions Amazon for efficiency in a competitive landscape, but at the cost of thousands of livelihoods, echoing patterns seen in prior downturns like the CNN-referenced historical parallels.[1][2][3]