Amazon is getting ready to let go of about 14,000 employees in one of the largest rounds of job cuts in its history. The tech giant announced on Tuesday that nearly 5% of its corporate staff will be affected, as the company works to lower costs and depend more on artificial intelligence (AI). The layoffs won’t impact warehouse workers, who make up most of Amazon’s 1.5 million-strong workforce.
Job Cuts Despite Record Success
What makes this move surprising is that Amazon’s share price is currently at an all-time high. The company is expected to report record third-quarter sales of around $179 billion (£134 billion) on Thursday. Still, CEO Andy Jassy has been clear about his push for greater efficiency through AI.
AI Changing the Way Amazon Works
Mr Jassy told employees earlier this year that the rise of AI would lead to changes in how work gets done across Amazon.
“As we roll out more generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done,” he said.
“We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs.
“It’s hard to know exactly where this nets out over time, but in the next few years, we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company.”
His message makes it clear that AI is transforming the way Amazon’s teams operate. Office employees are already using AI tools to research, write reports and presentations, and handle many beginner-level tasks. The impact has been especially strong among software engineers, as AI tools become better at coding.
Big Tech’s Wave of Layoffs
Amazon isn’t alone in this trend. Other major tech companies have also been cutting staff, even as their stock prices soar. Microsoft recently announced plans to reduce its workforce by 15,000, and Meta let go of about 600 employees from its AI division last week.
Automation in Warehouses
Meanwhile, in Amazon’s massive warehouses, automation and robotics are taking on more and more of the work. The company believes that robots could eventually handle around three-quarters of the tasks that humans currently do. This shift could help Amazon avoid hiring about 600,000 additional workers in the future.
Layoffs Begin This Week
Amazon is expected to start notifying corporate employees about the layoffs on Tuesday. According to layoffs.fyi, a site that tracks job cuts across the tech industry, nearly 130,000 tech workers have already lost their jobs so far this year.
Even with its record profits, Amazon’s decision shows how deeply AI is reshaping the modern workplace, creating new opportunities while making others disappear.
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