Amazon preps new corporate layoffs in AI streamlining push

Amazon is preparing another wave of corporate layoffs as it aims to become leaner, faster, more agile, and more AI-focused. Reports indicate that the cuts could begin as early as next week, following the major reductions announced in 2025.

The move aligns with the company’s broader strategy to reduce bureaucracy, streamline management, and redirect resources toward AI-driven tools. Executives have emphasized eliminating unnecessary management layers and roles that no longer support the company’s core priorities.

That effort started in 2025, when the company slashed roughly 14,000 corporate jobs — among the largest white-collar job cuts in the company’s history. Sources aware of the company’s internal planning processes said Amazon would again launch cuts next week, cutting about the same number of corporate workers in different teams. 

The layoffs are part of a broader initiative to eliminate around 30,000 corporate roles — roughly 10% of the firm’s office workforce — though the company has not publicly confirmed the exact figures. Globally, it employs about 1.57 million people.

Most employees are based in warehouses and fulfilment centres, but this round targets the company’s corporate offices, technology development, human resources, marketing, finance, and other departments outside the warehouse. 

Executives haven’t said who will be impacted by the subsequent individual teams. However, the previous run in October 2022 impacted Amazon Web Services (AWS), retail, Prime Video, and human resources, among others.

Integrating AI into Amazon’s strategy

One of Amazon’s most frequently cited reasons for shifting roles is its focus on artificial intelligence. Employees and managers, including Chief Executive Andy Jassy, have also said they’re now automating mundane, repetitive tasks and reshaping job design and responsibilities with new AI tools. The leadership team says that this efficiency-boosting technology would eventually change the makeup of their teams. 

They also said they could reduce bureaucracy rather than lay off workers or eliminate their jobs. And so, responding to workers last year, the company’s senior human resources leaders said Amazon wants to pursue greater investment in its biggest bets, including AI and other strategic areas of focus, and then cut roles that are less necessary for future growth.

This way, they can replace employees with new resources dedicated to innovation and technology while automating routine, repetitive work. The focus of Amazon’s AI and automation initiatives reflected a larger trend in the tech sector, where big companies are now rethinking how they align their workforces with new tech priorities. 

Shifting roles across Amazon’s corporate teams

For many Amazon employees, the announcement of another round of layoffs brings added uncertainty and pressure, even for those whose roles may no longer align with the company’s new strategy.

Affected employees in the last round were given time to seek other jobs, inside and outside the company, and Amazon often provides severance and job-transition assistance, sources say. 

But the specifics diverge by region and job function. While Amazon has cut jobs, it’s still projected to be recruiting in high-growth verticals such as AI development, cloud infrastructure, and customer-facing innovation. 

Those moves should set Amazon up for future competition and technological change. And because AI is rapidly changing how businesses operate, Amazon is betting that by investing in automation and streamlining its corporate architecture, it will remain competitive in a fast-moving environment.