Amazon is cutting approximately 14,000 jobs across its global operations as part of a sweeping effort to streamline its workforce and adapt to rapid advances in artificial intelligence, the company announced Tuesday.
In a memo to employees, Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of People Experience and Technology, said the company needs to become “leaner and faster” to stay competitive in a technology landscape increasingly shaped by AI.
“What we need to remember is that the world is changing quickly,” Galetti wrote. “This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet, and it’s enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before. We’re convicted that we need to be organized more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership, to move as quickly as possible for our customers and business.”
While the company continues to perform well financially, Galetti said the workforce reductions are aimed at ensuring Amazon remains agile in the face of technological disruption. She emphasized that the restructuring would not be limited to job cuts the company also plans to hire in other areas, particularly in roles that support AI initiatives and next-generation business models.
Affected employees will have 90 days to find another position within the company, with Amazon recruiters prioritizing internal candidates during that time, she added.
The layoffs mark one of the largest workforce reductions at Amazon since CEO Andy Jassy took over from founder Jeff Bezos in 2021. The move underscores how generative AI is reshaping corporate structures across major tech firms, as automation and machine learning tools begin to replace or redefine traditional roles.
In a recent note to employees, Jassy signaled that AI would transform how work is done at Amazon and across industries.
“We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs,” Jassy wrote. “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.”
Jassy’s comments reflect a broader trend in Silicon Valley, where companies from Google to Meta have announced layoffs alongside renewed investment in AI-driven innovation. For Amazon, which has integrated AI into its logistics, retail, and cloud computing divisions, the technology represents both a competitive advantage and a structural challenge.
It remains unclear which Amazon divisions will be most affected by the cuts. The internal memo indicated that the layoffs would occur “across the company”, though it did not specify the extent to which entertainment units like Amazon MGM Studios or Prime Video will be impacted.
Analysts say the restructuring may signal a shift in how Amazon allocates resources, with greater focus on AWS (Amazon Web Services), automation in fulfillment centers, and the expansion of AI-powered tools for developers and consumers.
The announcement comes amid a wave of job reductions across the tech industry in 2025, as firms adjust to slowing growth and redirect investment toward AI. For Amazon, the layoffs represent another step in what Jassy has described as a “multi-year transformation” aimed at improving efficiency, profitability, and innovation speed.
Despite the cuts, Galetti reaffirmed that Amazon’s long-term outlook remains strong.
“We’re building for the future,” she wrote. “And that means making hard decisions today so that we can move faster and serve our customers better tomorrow.”