E-commerce giant Amazon has cited artificial intelligence as a key driver of its decision to lay off thousands of its corporate employees
E-commerce giant Amazon has cited artificial intelligence as a key driver of its decision to lay off thousands of its corporate employees
Amazon confirms plans to mass lay off 14,000 corporate employees amid an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled cost-cutting drive.
On 28 October 2025, Amazon’s senior vice-president of people, experience and technology Beth Galetti confirmed to employees that the e-commerce behemoth plans to axe 14,000 roles from its corporate workforce, something she specified has been prompted and enabled by the firm’s AI investments.
“The reductions we’re sharing today are a continuation of this work to get even stronger by further reducing bureaucracy, removing layers and shifting resources to ensure we’re investing in our biggest bets and what matters most to our customers’ current and future needs,” she said in a message sent to employees.
While Galetti signalled further cuts down the line as the company searches for further ways to “realise efficiency gains”, she also said that Amazon expects “to continue hiring in key strategic areas” through 2026.
Although she did not give any indication of what roles are being cut, from which business units or where they will be located globally, she said most employees being let go will be offered a 90-day window to look for new roles internally.
Galetti explicitly cited AI as a key factor contributing to the layoffs. “Some may ask why we’re reducing roles when the company is performing well … What we need to remember is that the world is changing quickly,” she said.
“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 (in existing market segments and altogether new ones). We’re convicted that we need to be organised more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership, to move as quickly as possible for our customers and business.
