Amazon has confirmed it will eliminate around 14,000 corporate roles worldwide as part of a sweeping restructuring plan aimed at streamlining operations and refocusing on key growth areas.
The announcement came after media reports of large-scale layoffs across the company’s global offices. In a message shared with employees and published on Amazon’s official blog, Beth Galetti, Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology, said the decision was designed to make the company more agile and better aligned with its long-term priorities.
“We aim to get even stronger by further reducing bureaucracy, removing layers, and shifting resources to ensure we’re investing in our biggest bets and what matters most to our customers’ current and future needs,” Galetti wrote.
The restructuring will affect various divisions, with some teams shrinking while others expand. Employees impacted by the changes will have up to 90 days to apply for new positions within Amazon. The company said its recruitment teams will prioritize internal candidates in an effort to retain as many staff members as possible.
For those unable or unwilling to transition to new roles, Amazon will offer severance packages, outplacement services, and extended health insurance benefits.
Galetti attributed the move partly to the rapid integration of artificial intelligence into Amazon’s operations. “This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet,” she said. “We must be organized more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership, to move as quickly as possible for our customers and business.”
While emphasizing efficiency, Galetti also said Amazon would continue hiring in “key strategic areas” — particularly in technology and AI-related functions — even as it scales back in others.
The announcement builds on earlier comments from CEO Andy Jassy, who in June predicted that generative AI would fundamentally reshape Amazon’s workforce. At the time, Jassy said AI would likely lead to “fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs,” as automation and efficiency gains take hold.
Jassy urged employees to embrace the shift by learning and applying AI tools across their work. “Those who embrace this change, become conversant in AI, help us build and improve our AI capabilities internally, and deliver for customers, will be well-positioned to have high impact and help us reinvent the company,” he wrote.
The layoffs mark Amazon’s latest step in an ongoing effort to streamline its corporate structure following a series of job cuts that began in 2023. The company joins other major technology firms, including Google and Microsoft, in recalibrating their workforces as AI continues to redefine the industry.
