Amazon Cuts 30,000 Corporate Jobs in Largest Layoff History

Amazon.com Inc. executed the largest layoff in its 30-year history, eliminating approximately 30,000 corporate positions between October 2025 and January 2026. The reduction occurred in two primary waves: an initial cut of 14,000 white-collar jobs in October, followed by a second wave of 16,000 roles announced on January 28, 2026. These cuts affected nearly 10% of the corporate workforce, with heavy impacts on Amazon Web Services, retail operations, Prime Video, and the People Experience and Technology human resources unit.

CEO Andy Jassy initially characterized the reductions as an anti-bureaucracy initiative to remove management layers created during pandemic-era over-hiring and restore a startup-like culture of agility. While Jassy later clarified that the October cuts were not primarily driven by financial pressure or direct AI replacement, he acknowledged that generative AI would reduce the total corporate workforce over the next few years through efficiency gains. This shift coincides with billions of dollars in investments toward AI infrastructure and data centers.

Impacted U.S. employees were generally given a 90-day window to seek internal roles before receiving severance and health benefits. Regional filings show significant cuts in Washington state, including 2,198 roles in the Seattle area, as well as hundreds of terminations across California and New York. Former employees and analysts have contested the company narrative, suggesting the layoffs are traditional cost-cutting measures framed as strategic AI innovation to satisfy investors.