Amazon to lay off up to 30,000 corporate employees starting Tuesday: Report

Amazon will cut up to 30,000 corporate jobs this week as it streamlines operations and increases automation. — Image credit: Getty Images

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Summary

Layoffs

Amazon plans to lay off up to 30,000 corporate employees, or about 10% of its corporate workforce, starting Tuesday.

Several departments

The cuts will affect divisions including human resources, devices and services, and operations in the U.S., U.K. and Canada.

Replacement

CEO Andy Jassy said in June that artificial intelligence would eventually replace more workers at Amazon.

Full story

Amazon is planning to lay off up to 30,000 corporate employees starting Tuesday, Reuters reports. The online retailer currently employs 1.55 million people and plans to reduce expenses by addressing over-hiring that occurred during the pandemic when the company added workers to meet high demand.

Of the approximately 350,000 corporate employees, about 10% are expected to be laid off. According to the report, the layoffs may affect several of Amazon’s businesses, including human resources, devices and services, operations and other departments.

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On Monday, Amazon managers of the teams affected by the cuts were reportedly required to attend training on how to talk to their employees about the layoffs. The affected employees will start receiving email notifications beginning Tuesday morning. A draft email, reviewed by Business Insider, explains affected employees will receive a severance package that includes full pay and benefits for the next 90 days after their jobs end.

The layoffs will affect employees working in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, according to internal messages that were recently sent to Amazon’s managers, Business Insider reports.

Automation and future reductions

In June, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said that the company’s growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools would likely result in more job cuts. The company has heavily automated its warehouse operations, and robots are doing more of the work. Jassy said there would soon be more robots than human workers in those facilities, as automation continues to expand.

Previous layoffs and holiday hiring

In 2023, because of global economic challenges, Amazon laid off about 27,000 employees across several departments. The company said, at the time, that the cuts were part of an ongoing effort to control costs and adapt to changing business conditions.

Meanwhile, the tech giant announced it is looking to hire 250,000 seasonal employees to help with the holiday demand.

Lauren Keenan (Reporter)

Lauren Keenan is an anchor and reporter for Straight Arrow News.

Cole Lauterbach (Managing Editor) and Lawrence Banton (Digital Producer) contributed to this report.

Tags: amazon, Jobs, Layoffs

The layoffs will affect employees working in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, according to internal messages that were recently sent to Amazon’s managers, Business Insider reports.

Meanwhile, the tech giant announced it is looking to hire 250,000 seasonal employees to help with the holiday demand.

Why this story matters

Amazon's plan to cut up to 30,000 corporate jobs highlights the growing influence of automation and artificial intelligence on employment, reflecting broader trends in workforce restructuring in the technology sector.

Workforce reduction

Amazon is set to lay off nearly 10% of its corporate employees, marking the company's largest job cut in its history and signaling a significant shift in its operational strategy.

Post-pandemic economic adjustments

The reduction aims to address overhiring during the pandemic and ongoing cost control measures, reflecting how major companies are adapting their business strategies in response to changes in demand and economic conditions.

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Synthesized coverage insights across 106 media outlets

Context corner

The layoffs follow increased pandemic-era hiring as demand for Amazon services surged. As demand normalized, Amazon, like many tech firms, began reducing staff and is now accelerating automation and artificial intelligence as central to future operations.

Do the math

The reduction would be about 8.5-10% of corporate staff, or 30,000 out of 350,000 corporate employees, but less than 2% of Amazon's total workforce. Amazon has also laid off more than 27,000 corporate employees since 2022.

Solution spotlight

To ease the process, some articles note Amazon will provide severance packages including full pay and benefits for 90 days and has trained managers on communicating these changes with staff. There's also mention of retraining and anonymous feedback channels to address inefficiencies.

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Sources

Bias comparison

Media outlets on the left frame the 30,000 corporate job cuts as a deliberate, negative corporate action, using terms like "targets," "warns," and "chop," often linking them to a "series of layoffs" and AI's negative impact.
Media outlets in the center cite "over-hiring" to "pare expenses," and explore broader "US labor market" implications and AI's role in "stoke fears.
Media outlets on the right portray the same figures as a necessary business correction for "pandemic-era overhiring," employing phrases like "axe" and "corrects," and noting positive market reactions.

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Media landscape

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106 total sources

Key points from the Left

Amazon is preparing to lay off as many as 30,000 corporate employees this week, marking its largest job cuts in history according to Reuters.
The layoffs will affect Amazon's human resources, devices and services, and operations divisions most heavily, impacting nearly 10% of the corporate workforce.
CEO Andy Jassy plans to cut down on bureaucracy and excessive management, acknowledging potential future job cuts due to increased use of AI.
This cut will mark Amazon's largest-ever round of layoffs, surpassing the previous loss of 27,000 jobs, as reported by Reuters.

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Key points from the Center

No summary available because of a lack of coverage.

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See Hide headlines from Center sources 25 sources

Key points from the Right

Amazon will cut 30,000 corporate jobs starting Tuesday, representing 9% of its global office workforce of 350,000, according to Reuters.
The layoffs follow previous reductions totaling 27,000 jobs, mainly under CEO Andy Jassy since 2021, according to Reuters.
Affected areas include human resources and devices, with managers instructed to notify employees about the cuts, as reported by Reuters.
Despite layoffs, Amazon plans to hire 250,000 seasonal workers for the holiday rush, indicating a continued demand for labor in other areas of the company, as detailed by Reuters.

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