Amazon to cut 30,000 jobs in largest layoff in company history

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: CNBC + Reuters
Today 01:00
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Amazon is set to lay off up to 30,000 corporate employees this week, its largest job cut ever, as part of CEO Andy Jassy's drive to streamline operations, cut costs, and integrate AI-driven efficiency.

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FILE - The Amazon logo is pictured at the Amazon Robotic Sorting Fulfillment Center in Madison County, Miss., Aug. 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

Amazon is preparing to carry out its largest round of layoffs since the company’s founding, with tens of thousands of employees expected to lose their jobs this week, according to reports from CNBC and Reuters.

A source familiar with the plans told CNBC that the company will begin notifying affected staff through internal emails as early as Tuesday morning. The individual, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the details remain confidential but described the cuts as extensive.

According to Reuters, the layoffs could affect up to 30,000 corporate employees, nearly 10% of Amazon’s 350,000-person corporate workforce, and span nearly all major departments, including human resources, operations, devices, and cloud services. The cuts come as the retail and cloud computing giant seeks to streamline its structure and redirect resources toward higher-growth areas such as artificial intelligence and logistics.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy had previously warned in June that the company expected to see its corporate workforce shrink "as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company." Analysts say this round of layoffs reflects that long-term shift, as Amazon pushes for automation and efficiency following rapid over-hiring during the pandemic.

Corporate Shakeup

The move follows a series of technical failures earlier this month involving Amazon Web Services (AWS), which caused widespread outages that disrupted Amazon’s own platform as well as major services including Roblox and Canva. The disruptions were reported across the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Despite the cuts on the corporate side, Amazon plans to hire around 250,000 seasonal workers in the United States for the holiday season to bolster fulfillment and logistics operations.

Amazon has not yet issued an official statement on the layoffs, but market observers view the move as part of a broader cost-cutting strategy amid slowing growth, mounting competition in cloud services, and efforts to stabilize infrastructure following recent disruptions.