Amazon to layoff over 30,000 corporate roles starting today, says report

Amazon is preparing to cut as many as 30,000 corporate jobs starting Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing three people familiar with the matter. The move is part of an effort to rein in costs after what the company now views as overexpansion during the pandemic boom.

Largest cuts since 2022

The planned layoffs represent nearly 10 percent of Amazon’s roughly 350,000 corporate employees, though only a fraction of its 1.55 million global workforce. If finalized, it would mark the company’s largest round of job reductions since approximately 27,000 roles were eliminated beginning in late 2022.

An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment, according to Reuters.

Wide divisional impact

The cuts are expected to hit various divisions across the company. Roles at People Experience and Technology (human resources), devices and services, and operations are among those in the firing line, depending on shifting financial priorities, the report said.

Amazon has already trimmed smaller numbers of positions across devices, communications, podcasting and other teams over the past two years.

Managers trained for layoff communication

Managers in impacted business units participated in training on Monday to prepare for notification emails scheduled to go out Tuesday morning, according to the report.

Jassy’s efficiency drive

CEO Andy Jassy has launched a push to eliminate what he has called “excess bureaucracy,” including reducing layers of management. He has set up an anonymous internal system to flag inefficiencies, which has generated about 1,500 submissions and more than 450 process changes so far.

Jassy said earlier this year that increased use of AI tools would likely result in further workforce reductions by automating repetitive tasks.

Job cut numbers could shift

The final scale of layoffs may evolve as Amazon’s financial strategy continues to adjust, the sources told Reuters.

Amazon shares rose 1.3% to $227.11 near Monday’s close. The ecommerce and cloud giant is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings on Thursday.