Amazon Slashes 16,000 Jobs in Second Major Layoff Wave Amid Fierce AI Competition
By Staff Reporter | January 28, 2026
Amazon announced Wednesday it is laying off approximately 16,000 employees across its organization, marking the company’s second significant round of job cuts in just three months as it races to streamline operations and bolster its position in the intensifying artificial intelligence landscape.[1][2]
In a company blog post and internal email, Beth Galetti, Amazon’s Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology, detailed the reductions aimed at eliminating bureaucracy, reducing organizational layers, and accelerating decision-making.[1][2][3] “We’ve been working to strengthen our organization by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy,” Galetti wrote, emphasizing the need to operate more nimbly like a startup despite the company’s massive scale.[2]
Continuation of October Cuts Tied to AI Transformation
This latest purge follows a October 2025 announcement where Amazon eliminated 14,000 roles in divisions including games, logistics, payments, and cloud computing, explicitly linking the moves to the rise of AI technologies.[1][2][3] The e-commerce giant described AI as “the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet,” enabling faster innovation and necessitating workforce adjustments to match.[1]
Reports indicate the current 16,000 layoffs are a continuation of plans initially targeting up to 30,000 positions, reflecting CEO Andy Jassy’s vision to keep Amazon agile amid AI-driven disruptions in the tech sector.[1][2] Affected areas span the broader organization, with notable impacts at Amazon Web Services (AWS), where some employees were notified prematurely via a misfired email and calendar invite dubbed “Project Dawn.”[1][3]
AWS Senior Vice President Colleen Aubrey’s email, accidentally sent early to staff in the US, Canada, and Costa Rica, acknowledged the difficulty of the changes: “Changes like this are hard on everyone. These decisions are difficult and made thoughtfully as we position our organization and AWS for future success.”[1][3]
Support for Affected Workers and Future Hiring Plans
Amazon is providing a safety net for those impacted. US employees have 90 days to seek internal reassignments, with severance pay and outplacement support offered if no new role is found. Timelines vary by country.[1][3] Galetti assured staff that broad reductions will not become a “new rhythm,” though the company may make “adjustments as appropriate” at team levels and plans to hire in “strategic areas and functions critical to our future,” such as AI-related initiatives.[2][3]
Financial Strength Amid Restructuring
Despite the layoffs, Amazon’s financial performance remains robust. In the third quarter of 2025, net sales surged 13% year-over-year, while net income climbed to $21.2 billion from $15.3 billion in the same period of 2024.[1] This growth underscores that the cuts are strategic rather than a response to financial distress, aligning with industry-wide efforts to reallocate resources toward high-growth areas like AI and cloud computing.
The announcements coincide with other pivots, including the shutdown of remaining Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores to prioritize grocery delivery services, further signaling a focus on efficiency.[1]
Broader Tech Industry Context
Amazon’s moves mirror a wave of layoffs across Big Tech, where companies are trimming workforces to invest heavily in AI amid fierce competition from rivals like Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI. Jassy has repeatedly stressed the need for leanness to adapt quickly as AI reshapes business models, predicting ongoing employment reductions.[2]
Critics argue these cuts disproportionately affect mid-level and support roles, potentially stifling innovation despite the rhetoric. Employee advocates have called for greater transparency, especially after the leaked AWS communications highlighted internal missteps.[1][3]
“Every team will continue to evaluate the ownership, speed, and capacity to invent for customers, and make adjustments as appropriate.”
— Beth Galetti, Amazon SVP[3]
Implications for Workers and Investors
For the 16,000 affected workers, the 90-day window offers hope for internal transitions, but many in tech hubs like Seattle and beyond face uncertainty in a competitive job market. Severance packages will provide temporary relief, but the psychological toll of repeated layoffs looms large.
Investors appear unfazed, viewing the restructuring as a positive step toward profitability in AI ventures. Amazon’s AWS remains a powerhouse, powering much of the AI boom, even as it sheds staff to sharpen focus.[3]
As the story develops, Amazon has not detailed exact divisions hit hardest beyond AWS confirmations. The company reiterated its commitment to thoughtful change, but employees and observers alike await clarity on what “strategic hiring” entails in this AI arms race.
This is a developing story. Updates will follow as more details emerge.
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