Tech titan Amazon braces for its most aggressive workforce reduction yet, with reports signaling up to 30,000 layoffs kicking off next week. The catalyst? An aggressive embrace of AI to sharpen competitive edges.
The purge focuses on AWS, human resources, streaming service Prime Video, and frontline retail units. This extends October’s 14,000 job eliminations, aligning with the 30,000-total target.
Per Reuters’ sources, the next batch could match that magnitude. Official word from Amazon is pending.
An October internal letter celebrated AI as ‘the biggest leap since the internet,’ crediting it for empowering faster innovation and justifying staff reductions.
In a Q3 earnings rebuttal, CEO Andy Jassy pivoted the narrative: not finances or AI hype, but cultural overhaul. Excessive layers of management and headcount had bred bureaucracy, he argued.
Set to become the largest in Amazon’s storied 30-year run—topping 2022’s 27,000 cuts—this still spares the bulk of its 1.5 million employees.
Laid-off staff get a 90-day grace period on payroll, time to pivot internally or externally.
Davos discussions this week reinforced a consensus among tech bosses: AI redefines tasks without erasing human roles entirely.