Amazon Lays off 16,000 Employees As AI Battle Surges

Amazon on Wednesday confirmed 16,000 corporate job cuts to complete a plan for around 30,000 in three months as it fights to improve its standing in the battle for AI supremacy.

Last week, Reuters reported that Amazon was planning a second round of job cuts as part of the broader goal.

The company, in a blog post on Wednesday, said it needed to increase its decision-making speed.

“We’ve been working to strengthen our organisation by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy,” said Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people.

Galetti noted that there is a possibility of further losses, stressing that some teams will continue to “make adjustments as appropriate”.

According to CNN, Amazon had in late October announced a cut of 14,000 corporate employees in line with CEO Andy Jassy’s vision of operating like the world’s biggest startup.

Jassy said he wants the company to remain nimble so it can adapt and change quickly as AI upends the technology sector.

According to a 2024 survey filed with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Amazon is America’s second-largest private employer, behind Walmart with over 350,000 corporate employees.

Galetti also stated in the blog post that the waves of layoffs won’t become a “new rhythm,” even though Jassy predicted Amazon would continue to reduce its employment rolls because of AI.

Amazon has also said it over hired during the Covid-19 pandemic, when demand for online shopping surged.

Galetti further explained that Amazon is evaluating the “ownership, speed, and capacity to invent for customers, and make adjustments as appropriate, adding that it will hire strategically to ramp up in parts of the business that are critical to the company’s future.