Amazon Announces Major Global Restructuring with 16,000 Corporate Job Cuts
Amazon has informed its workforce of plans to eliminate approximately 16,000 corporate positions worldwide, marking a significant step in the company's ongoing efforts to streamline operations and reduce bureaucratic layers. This announcement represents the second substantial round of layoffs within just three months, following the loss of roughly 14,000 roles in October last year.
Geographical Impact and Workforce Details
The latest reductions are understood to primarily affect employees based in the United States, though some positions in the United Kingdom will also be impacted. Amazon has declined to specify exactly how many British workers face redundancy. At the end of September, the global e-commerce giant employed approximately 1.57 million people worldwide, including around 350,000 corporate staff, with the remainder working predominantly in warehouse and logistics operations.
Leadership Communication and Strategic Rationale
In a blog post addressed to staff, Beth Galetti, Amazon's Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology, explained the company's direction. 'We have been reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy,' Galetti stated. She sought to reassure employees that this should not be interpreted as the beginning of regular, rolling job cuts. 'Some of you might ask if this is the beginning of a new rhythm - where we announce broad reductions every few months. That's not our plan,' she wrote.
Support for Affected Employees and Broader Business Context
For US-based employees affected by the cuts, Amazon will provide a 90-day window to apply for other internal roles within the company. Those who do not secure a new position will be offered severance pay, continued health insurance benefits, and outplacement support services. These workforce reductions coincide with Amazon's strategic pullback from certain physical retail ventures. Earlier this week, the company confirmed it would close its remaining Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores in the US, shifting its grocery focus primarily to its Whole Foods Market subsidiary.
Technological Transformation and Leadership Perspective
The job cuts occur as Amazon intensifies its adoption of artificial intelligence and robotics across its operations, while simultaneously reducing a workforce that expanded significantly during the pandemic period. CEO Andy Jassy, who succeeded founder Jeff Bezos in 2021, has repeatedly indicated that AI implementation will gradually decrease the company's overall headcount over time. Following previous layoffs, Jassy emphasised that these decisions were not primarily driven by financial pressures or AI adoption alone. 'It's culture,' he explained in October. 'And if you grow as fast as we did for several years, the size of businesses, the number of people, the number of locations, the types of businesses you're in, you end up with a lot more people than what you had before, and you end up with a lot more layers.'
Financial Performance and Market Implications
Notably, these workforce reductions are not occurring against a backdrop of financial instability. In its most recent quarterly report, Amazon's profits surged nearly 40 percent to approximately $21 billion, while revenue soared to more than $180 billion. The layoffs announced this week represent Amazon's largest single round of job cuts since 2023, when the company eliminated 27,000 positions.
Broader Economic Landscape and Industry Trends
Amazon's announcement contributes to growing concerns about the stability of the US job market, particularly within white-collar sectors. This trend is reflected across corporate America, with companies like UPS planning to cut up to 30,000 operational roles this year through attrition and buyouts as it seeks to reduce its delivery network, volume, and costs. Similarly, social media platform Pinterest has revealed plans to lay off under 15 percent of its workforce as it redirects spending toward AI development. Other major corporations, including Target, Procter & Gamble, and Walmart, also slashed thousands of mid-level corporate positions in 2025.
Revised government data this month showed the US economy lost 173,000 jobs in October - the worst monthly performance since the pandemic - while December added just 50,000 positions. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the United States added only about 584,000 jobs in 2025, making it the weakest year for employment growth outside a recession since 2003. This creates a challenging economic backdrop as businesses signal that automation, tariff pressures, and profit optimisation efforts are likely to continue influencing workforce decisions.
