Amazon is preparing to cut tens of thousands of corporate positions as part of a major restructuring effort, according to several media reports. The layoffs could begin as early as this week.
Reports from The Wall Street Journal and Reuters state that Amazon plans to remove up to 30,000 jobs. The move is part of a company-wide cost overhaul led by chief executive Andy Jassy, aimed at boosting efficiency after years of rapid expansion.
Amazon declined to comment when contacted by international news organizations.
Biggest workforce reduction in recent years
If confirmed, the layoffs would be among the largest in the global tech industry this year. They would also mark Amazon’s biggest staff reduction since 2022, when the company let go of about 27,000 workers over several months.
Additional reports from CNBC and The New York Times confirmed similar plans, citing sources familiar with internal discussions. The reports did not clarify which divisions or regions will be most affected.
Corporate employees bear the brunt
The planned layoffs are expected to affect around ten percent of Amazon’s corporate workforce. Even so, the figure represents only a small portion of the company’s total staff, which exceeds 1.5 million employees worldwide.
According to data filed with U.S. regulators, Amazon employs roughly 350,000 corporate staff globally, including executives, managers, and sales professionals.
Post-pandemic slowdown reshapes Amazon’s priorities
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Amazon hired aggressively to meet a surge in online shopping and home deliveries. The company expanded faster than ever as consumer demand soared.
Now, Andy Jassy is steering Amazon toward tighter cost control and operational discipline. At the same time, the company is investing heavily in artificial intelligence to drive productivity and streamline services.
Automation expected to change job landscape
Jassy said in June that the growing use of AI tools will lead to significant changes in the company’s workforce. Automation, he explained, will replace certain repetitive roles while creating new opportunities in other fields.
“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 enable.”
