Amazon is preparing to lay off tens of thousands of corporate employees in one of its biggest job cuts in years, according to several media reports. The reductions could start as soon as this week.
Reports from The Wall Street Journal and Reuters indicate that the company plans to cut up to 30,000 positions. The layoffs are part of a restructuring program led by chief executive Andy Jassy, aimed at reducing expenses and reshaping the company’s priorities.
Amazon declined to comment when approached by international news outlets.
Largest wave of layoffs since 2022
If confirmed, this would be one of the largest rounds of job cuts in the tech industry in recent months. It would also mark Amazon’s biggest reduction since 2022, when the company cut about 27,000 jobs over several months.
Similar reports from CNBC and The New York Times supported the claims, citing sources close to the matter. The reports did not specify which countries or departments will face the deepest cuts.
Office workers hit hardest
The planned layoffs could affect around ten percent of Amazon’s corporate workforce. Despite the high number, it would still represent a small portion of its total global staff of more than 1.5 million people.
According to official filings in the United States, Amazon has about 350,000 corporate employees worldwide, including executives, managers, and sales professionals.
Post-pandemic expansion slows down
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Amazon hired aggressively to meet a surge in demand for online shopping and home deliveries. The company grew rapidly as millions of consumers turned to e-commerce.
Now, under Andy Jassy’s leadership, Amazon has shifted focus to cost efficiency. At the same time, it is investing heavily in artificial intelligence to improve operations and drive long-term growth.
Artificial intelligence reshaping jobs
In June, Jassy said that the growing use of AI would inevitably lead to changes in the workforce. Automation, he noted, will handle many of the routine tasks currently performed by humans.
“We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today,” Jassy said. “And more people doing new kinds of work that these technologies create.”
