Amazon plans to eliminate up to 30,000 corporate jobs, starting with notifications to employees on Tuesday, October 28, 2025. This significant reduction aims to cut expenses and correct for extensive hiring during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cuts represent nearly 10% of Amazon's corporate workforce, marking the company's largest job reduction to date.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]} ### Cost Cutting and Overhiring Fuel Reductions The e-commerce giant significantly expanded its workforce between 2017 and 2022, with its corporate headcount tripling during this period.^[1][6] This rapid growth occurred as online shopping demand surged during the pandemic. As consumer habits shifted back towards pre-pandemic norms, Amazon found itself with more corporate staff than needed.^{[9][3][4][5][6]} Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has emphasized a push for greater efficiency and a reduction in bureaucracy since taking his role.^{[4][5][10][8]} He previously installed an anonymous feedback system to identify inefficiencies, which generated around 1,500 responses and over 450 process improvements.^{[4][5][11][10][8]} These efforts are part of a broader strategy to streamline operations. ### AI's Growing Influence on Workforce The increasing adoption of artificial intelligence also plays a role in the current job cuts. CEO Andy Jassy hinted earlier this year that AI tools would likely lead to fewer human roles in some areas.^{[1][3][4][5][10][12][8][13][14]} He stated, "We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs."^[1] Analysts suggest Amazon is seeing enough AI-driven productivity gains in corporate teams to support a substantial reduction.^[4][15] Amazon is investing heavily in AI, with plans to increase capital expenditures to over $100 billion in 2025, primarily for building AI capacity in Amazon Web Services (AWS).^[1] This new round of layoffs follows a period of smaller, targeted job reductions across various departments over the past two years.^{[4][15][5][16][6][8]} Amazon previously cut 27,000 corporate workers in multiple stages during 2022 and 2023.^{[1][9][3][4][17][15][5][16][6][11][7][8]} The current planned cuts surpass those earlier reductions, making this the largest in the company's history.^{[2][9][3][4][17][15][5][16][6][11][7][8]} ### Divisions Affected and Broader Tech Trends The job cuts are expected to impact a wide range of corporate divisions. These include human resources (internally known as People Experience and Technology or PXT), operations, devices and services, logistics, payments, video games, and Amazon Web Services.^{[1][2][3][4][15][5][6][10][8]} Some reports indicate that the human resources division alone could see up to 15% of its staff laid off.^{[1][2][3][4][15][6]} Amazon's corporate workforce numbered around 350,000 in early 2023, out of a total global workforce of about 1.55 million employees.^{[1][3][4][17][15][5][6][11][7][8]} These layoffs affect a significant portion of its white-collar staff. The company has not yet provided an official statement regarding the specific number of jobs being cut.^[5][10][8] This wave of job reductions at Amazon reflects a wider trend across the technology sector. Tech companies globally have been undergoing significant workforce reductions. In 2024, nearly 281,000 tech jobs were lost worldwide.^[18] The trend has continued into 2025, with over 26,000 employees already laid off in the tech and telecoms sectors.^[18] Experts anticipate that tech layoffs will continue throughout 2025, driven by factors such as economic uncertainty, rising operational costs, and the transformative impact of new technologies like AI.^{[9][18][19][20][21][22]} Companies that rapidly expanded during the pandemic are now re-evaluating their staffing needs, prioritizing profitability and efficiency.^[18][20][8] The move by Amazon highlights the ongoing shift in the tech industry, where companies are seeking leaner operations and integrating advanced automation to maintain competitiveness.

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