Amazon plans to cut 14,000 corporate jobs to reduce bureaucracy, remove excess layers, and focus more on its growing artificial intelligence strategy. This move represents the company’s second-largest round of layoffs after it eliminated 22,000 jobs in 2022. As of October 31, 2024, Amazon employed nearly 1.2 million people, with about 360,000 working in its corporate division across administrative, sales, and executive roles.
In a memo to employees, Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, explained that the decision aims to make the company stronger by redirecting resources toward its biggest opportunities. She admitted that some might question the move, given Amazon’s strong performance, but she said the changes are necessary because the world is evolving quickly.
Galetti described this generation of AI as the most transformative technology since the internet. She said it allows companies to innovate faster than ever before, creating both new markets and opportunities in existing ones. She emphasized that Amazon needs to operate more efficiently, with fewer management layers and greater ownership, to move quickly for customers and business growth.
The job cuts come as Amazon continues to pour resources into its technology infrastructure to expand its capacity for AI services. In June, CEO Andy Jassy told employees that the company would need fewer workers as it introduced more AI agents across operations. He explained that AI would change how many tasks are performed, reducing the need for some roles while creating new ones. Over the next few years, he said, the company expects its corporate workforce to shrink as AI improves efficiency.
Amazon’s spending shows how serious it is about this shift. In the first half of its current financial year, the company spent $55.6 billion, mostly on technology infrastructure to strengthen Amazon Web Services, its cloud business. AWS generated 18 percent of Amazon’s total net sales in the second quarter, with overall company revenue rising 13 percent to $167.7 billion compared with the previous year.
Reports from Reuters suggested that Amazon might eventually cut as many as 30,000 jobs across several departments, including human resources, devices and services, and operations. Earlier in the year, the company made smaller cuts in its Communications and Sustainability teams.
Amazon said it will give most affected employees 90 days to find new internal roles, with recruiters prioritizing them for available positions. Those who cannot transition will receive severance packages, outplacement support, and continued health insurance benefits.
Galetti noted that Amazon will continue streamlining its structure in 2026 while hiring in key areas. She said the company wants to build a leaner, faster organization capable of adapting to rapid technological change and positioning itself as a leader in the age of artificial intelligence.
