Amazon Confirms 16,000 Job Cuts as AI Push Reshapes Corporate Workforce

Amazon has confirmed 16,000 corporate job cuts, completing a plan that will reduce roughly 30,000 roles since October, as the company intensifies efforts to streamline operations and expand its use of artificial intelligence.

The layoffs mark the largest workforce reduction in Amazon’s three-decade history and come amid broader changes to its business structure and technology strategy.

Scale of Cuts

The confirmed reductions represent nearly 10% of Amazon’s corporate workforce, though they affect a small share of the company’s total 1.5 million employees, most of whom work in warehouses and fulfillment centers.

The cuts follow a previous round of 14,000 layoffs announced in October and were described by senior executives as part of a longer-term effort to simplify management layers and increase efficiency.

Beth Galetti, Amazon’s top human resources executive, said the moves were intended to strengthen the company by "reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy."

She said the company was not planning to announce broad reductions every few months, while leaving open the possibility that some teams may still make adjustments.

Internal Impact

The announcement followed confusion on Tuesday after an internal email referencing the layoffs, reportedly codenamed “Project Dawn,” was mistakenly shared with employees.

The email unsettled workers across multiple divisions, including Amazon Web Services, Alexa, Prime Video, advertising, and devices, before being withdrawn.

Staff in the United States, Canada, and Costa Rica were among those affected, though Amazon has not specified the full geographic scope.

The job cuts coincided with the company’s decision to close its remaining Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores and discontinue its Amazon One biometric payment system.

Executives have linked the restructuring to increased use of AI tools, which are automating tasks ranging from administrative work to software development.

At the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, business leaders noted that while AI adoption would eliminate some jobs, it could also create new roles over time.

Amazon shares rose slightly in pre-market trading ahead of the company’s quarterly earnings report.