Amazon is cutting 14,000 corporate jobs as the nation’s second-largest retailer stakes a big “bet” on artificial intelligence to replace human workers.
The job cuts, announced Tuesday, are the first wave that could affect as many as 30,000 corporate jobs – the largest layoffs in the Jeff Bezos-owned company’s history, according to Reuters and the Wall Street Journal.
In a letter to staff, senior vice president of people and technology Beth Galetti explained the company’s decision, calling AI “the most transformative technology since the internet.” She said the emphasis would remain on people taking more ownership of work, with fewer layers in the hierarchy.
“The reductions we’re sharing today are a continuation of this work 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 said in the letter.
It is unclear what the impact on Amazon’s 75,000 U.K. workforce will be, but reports in Reuters and the WSJ suggested global divisions, including human resources, operations, devices and services, and Amazon Web Services, are expected to be affected.
In late July, Amazon announced its operating income had jumped from $14.7 billion a year ago to $19.2 billion, which Galetti alluded to in the letter.
“Some may ask why we’re reducing roles when the company is performing well. Across our businesses, we’re delivering great customer experiences every day, innovating at a rapid rate, and producing strong business results. What we need to remember is that the world is changing quickly,” Galetti said.
Intelligence analyst Amanda Goodall criticized the tone of Galetti’s letter, which was titled “Staying nimble and continuing to strengthen our organizations.”
“Dontcha just love these buzzwords they come up with to make it not feel so bad?” Goodall said in a post on X.
The cuts will impact almost a tenth of the company’s roughly 350,000 corporate workforce. Amazon employs more than 1.5 million staff in total, with the majority in warehouse roles around the world.
CEO Andy Jassy had previously cautioned staff that some roles within the company could be replaced by AI.
“As we roll out more Generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done,” Jassy said in June. “We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs.”
Amazon has been trimming roles across the business in recent years, with cuts affecting divisions such as devices, communications and podcasting.
AI is already replacing thousands of jobs each month as the U.S. job market struggles amid global trade uncertainty, according to an August report.
Additional reporting by agencies
