Amazon prepares further job cuts as CEO Jassy targets leaner structure

Amazon is preparing another round of layoffs, extending a multi-phase workforce reduction that has already eliminated thousands of corporate roles as the company reshapes its organisation for slower growth and wider use of artificial intelligence.

The new cuts are expected to begin this week and could take Amazon’s total white-collar job losses to around 30,000, according to media reports. Reuters previously reported that the company had already cut roughly 14,000 corporate positions in October, accounting for about half of the planned reduction.

The latest round is expected to affect several major business units, including Amazon Web Services, retail operations, Prime Video and the People Experience and Technology human resources group, according to reports. Amazon has not publicly confirmed the final number of roles to be eliminated or the precise timing across divisions.

The layoffs come as the 90-day internal job-search period for employees impacted by October’s cuts expires, a process that allows staff to seek redeployment within the company before their roles are terminated. The expiry is set to trigger one of the largest single waves of corporate job losses in Amazon’s history.

Chief executive Andy Jassy has repeatedly framed the reductions as part of a broader effort to simplify Amazon’s structure and speed up decision-making. In earlier comments reported by Reuters, Jassy said the company had accumulated too many layers of management as it expanded rapidly during the pandemic.

“The reduction was not really financially driven and it’s not even really AI-driven, it’s culture,” Jassy said at the time. He argued that excessive bureaucracy had slowed execution and diluted accountability.

At the same time, Amazon has highlighted artificial intelligence as a central driver of its next growth phase. In a recent shareholder communication, the company described generative AI as “the most transformative technology since the internet”, with the potential to reshape productivity across its businesses.

Amazon employs about 1.58 million people globally, the vast majority in warehouses and fulfilment centres. The current cuts are concentrated on corporate and technology roles and are estimated to affect close to 10% of its white-collar workforce.

The move places Amazon alongside other big technology groups that have continued to trim staff into 2026 after aggressive hiring during the pandemic years. The sector has increasingly cited AI adoption, cost discipline and organisational streamlining as reasons for sustained headcount reductions.

For Amazon, the scale of the cuts underlines the challenge of balancing investment in emerging technologies with pressure to rein in costs. Whether a leaner corporate structure delivers the faster execution Jassy has promised will be closely watched by employees and investors alike.

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