Amazon announced Wednesday that it will lay off about 16,000 corporate employees, marking its second major round of cuts since October. The move is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to reduce bureaucracy and increase efficiency.
The layoffs follow October’s reduction of 14,000 corporate jobs. Together, these cuts represent roughly 10% of Amazon’s corporate and tech workforce, which totals around 350,000 employees.
In a blog post, Amazon said the job reductions are meant to “strengthen our organization by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy.” The company is also investing heavily in artificial intelligence and data center expansion.
Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, said more cuts could occur if teams need adjustments, but the company does not plan to make broad layoffs a regular occurrence.
Amazon has been downsizing for several years. Between 2022 and 2023, it cut over 27,000 employees and continued smaller reductions in 2024. CEO Andy Jassy has aimed to reshape Amazon’s corporate culture to operate like a “world’s largest startup.”
The layoffs come after a hiring surge during the Covid-19 pandemic, which was meant to meet higher e-commerce and cloud demand. Amazon has also recently closed its Fresh and Go grocery chains as part of cost-cutting measures.
Jassy previously said that efficiency gains from AI will reduce corporate headcount over time, shifting employees into new roles while trimming jobs made redundant by automation.
The company’s capital expenditures for 2026 are expected to reach $125 billion, signaling continued focus on AI and infrastructure growth despite workforce reductions.
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