San Francisco | October 2025
Amazon is reportedly preparing to lay off as many as 30,000 corporate employees beginning Tuesday, marking its largest workforce reduction since 2022, when it eliminated around 27,000 positions. The move comes as the company seeks to streamline operations, reduce costs, and address overhiring during the pandemic.
While the figure represents a small portion of Amazon’s 1.55 million total employees, it accounts for nearly 10% of its 350,000 corporate workforce. According to people familiar with the matter, the cuts are expected to impact divisions such as Human Resources (People Experience & Technology), Operations, Devices & Services, and Amazon Web Services (AWS).
An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment on the reports. However, sources suggest that managers of affected teams underwent training on Monday to guide them in communicating the layoffs, with email notifications scheduled for Tuesday morning.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has been leading a broader initiative to cut down on organizational bureaucracy, reduce layers of management, and identify inefficiencies through an internal anonymous feedback channel — which reportedly generated over 1,500 responses and 450 process changes earlier this year.
Jassy also hinted in June that increased use of Artificial Intelligence tools would lead to further job reductions, as automation begins to replace repetitive and routine tasks. Analysts believe these layoffs reflect Amazon’s AI-driven productivity gains, allowing it to maintain output while reducing headcount.
“This latest move signals that Amazon is likely realizing enough AI-driven productivity gains within corporate teams to support a substantial reduction in force,” said Sky Canaves, an eMarketer analyst.
Amazon’s Human Resources division could face up to 15% cuts, according to reports from Fortune. The company’s return-to-office policy — requiring employees to be in office five days a week — also failed to generate expected attrition, prompting further job eliminations.
Meanwhile, Amazon’s AWS cloud unit continues to be its largest profit center, posting Q2 sales of $30.9 billion, a 17.5% increase year-over-year, though lagging behind Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud’s growth rates.
Despite the cuts, Amazon is gearing up for another busy holiday season, announcing 250,000 seasonal job openings — consistent with previous years.
Amazon’s stock rose 1.2% to $226.97 on Monday, ahead of its upcoming Q3 earnings report due Thursday.
Source: Multiple media reports (Fortune, Reuters, Bloomberg)
