Seattle: Amazon is preparing to lay off as many as 30,000 corporate employees starting Tuesday, its largest job cut to date. The reductions are part of a broader effort to curb costs and adjust to slower growth following the heavy hiring of the pandemic era according to news agency Reuters.
While the cuts represent only a small fraction of Amazon’s 1.55 million total workforce, they account for nearly 10 percent of its roughly 350,000 corporate employees. The job cuts are expected to affect several major divisions, including Human Resources, known internally as People Experience, as well as Technology, Devices and Services, and Operations. Managers in affected teams were briefed on Monday and trained on how to handle employee notifications, which are scheduled to begin Tuesday morning.
The move follows smaller workforce reductions over the past two years across various departments such as communications, devices, and podcasting. Amazon last carried out a major restructuring in late 2022, when about 27,000 positions were eliminated.
Chief Executive Andy Jassy has led a campaign to streamline operations and cut down unnecessary bureaucracy. Earlier this year, he introduced an anonymous feedback system to identify inefficiencies, which generated about 1,500 suggestions and led to more than 450 procedural changes.
Jassy has also said that the growing adoption of artificial intelligence and automation could result in further job reductions, particularly in repetitive or administrative functions. “The company needs to be leaner and more agile,” Jassy said in June, highlighting plans to reorganize teams and consolidate management roles.
Sources said Amazon’s human resources division could face cuts of up to 15 percent, although the final figures remain fluid and could shift depending on business priorities.
Amazon’s stock rose 1.5 percent to $227.53 following reports of the planned cuts. The company is scheduled to release its third-quarter earnings on Thursday, with investors closely watching for signs of how the cost-cutting measures might affect profitability.
