Amazon said on January 28 that it planned to eliminate about 16,000 corporate roles, marking its second large round of job cuts since October.
In a company blog post, Amazon said the layoffs were part of an effort to reduce management layers, increase ownership, and remove bureaucracy.
The move aligned with the company’s broader push to streamline operations while continuing to invest heavily in artificial intelligence.
The cuts followed a previous round in October, when Amazon laid off roughly 14,000 corporate employees.
At that time, the company said additional reductions were likely in 2026 as it identified more opportunities to simplify its organizational structure.
Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, said further layoffs were possible but stressed the company was not establishing a recurring pattern of broad workforce reductions.
She said teams would continue to assess capacity, speed, and ownership.
The announcement came a day after some employees in Amazon’s cloud unit received an email referencing organizational changes, which the company later said was sent in error.
Amazon employed about 1.58 million workers as of its most recent quarterly filing, the majority of whom were in logistics and fulfillment.
Why This Matters Today
The layoffs highlighted how large technology companies are reshaping their corporate structures as AI becomes more central to operations.
Amazon has repeatedly said that efficiency gains from automation and AI will reduce the need for certain corporate roles while increasing demand for others.
The latest cuts brought Amazon’s total corporate and tech layoffs since October to roughly 30,000 employees, representing about 10% of its estimated corporate workforce.
While warehouse and delivery roles remained largely unaffected, the reductions underscored continued pressure on white-collar roles inside major tech firms.
CEO Andy Jassy has emphasized operating Amazon more like a startup by cutting management layers and accelerating decision-making.
Initiatives such as internal targets to reduce bureaucracy and the creation of a “no bureaucracy” feedback channel reflected that shift.
The job cuts are also connected to Amazon’s capital allocation strategy.
The company has been trimming costs across its business to fund aggressive AI investment and data center expansion.
With capital expenditures expected to reach $125 billion in 2026, Amazon signaled that workforce efficiency would remain a priority as spending on infrastructure and AI accelerated.
Our Key Takeaways:
Amazon’s decision to cut 16,000 corporate roles reflected its ongoing effort to simplify internal structures.
The move followed similar layoffs in October and aligned with broader cost controls tied to AI investment. Leadership framed the reductions as targeted rather than cyclical.
The company signaled that workforce changes would continue to evolve as automation reshapes corporate work.
- Amazon said it will lay off about 16,000 corporate employees to reduce bureaucracy and management layers.
- The cuts followed earlier layoffs in October and brought total corporate reductions since then to roughly 30,000 roles.
- Amazon’s workforce changes are closely tied to efficiency goals and increased investment in artificial intelligence and infrastructure.
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