Amazon Layoff: 16,000 Employees To Lose Jobs Amid Fierce AI Race

Amazon Layoff: Amid intensifying competition in the artificial intelligence race, Amazon has announced another major round of job cuts. The tech giant is set to lay off 16,000 employees, marking its second large-scale workforce reduction in the past three months.

The recent job cut would help Amazon to streamline operations, reduce management layers, and cut internal bureaucracy, said the US-based tech behemoth on Wednesday, January 28.

Amazon Layoff To Impact 16,000 Jobs

The latest round of job cuts announced by Amazon on Wednesday is expected to affect around 16,000 roles across the company. Employees who have received pink slips will be allowed to explore internal opportunities within Amazon over the next 90 days, according to a letter from Beth Galetti, Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology.

Severance Package, Outplacement Services, More

"That starts with offering most US-based employees 90 days to look for a new role internally (timing will vary internationally based on local and country-level requirements). Then, for teammates who are unable to find a new role at Amazon or who choose not to look for one, we'll provide transition support, including severance pay, outplacement services, health insurance benefits (as applicable), and more," stated Galetti further.

Amazon Layoff

In October last year, the tech giant had announced that it will cut around 14,000 corporate employees. The announcement was made in line with directives from CEO Andy Jassy's vision of operating like the world's biggest startup.

Amazon employes nearly 3,50,000 corporate employees, as per a 2024 filing with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Hence, the company stands as one of the largest private employers in the United States after Walmart. Taken together, the 30,000 job cuts represent about 9% of Amazon's total office-based workforce.

Intensifying AI Race Among Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Meta, OpenAI

Amazon job cuts have been announced amid intensified AI race from from Microsoft, Google, Meta, OpenAI and other technology rivals. Most of these companies are investing heavily in computing capacity and large language models that they believe will drive future economic growth.

Layoffs are scheduled to start on Wednesday across business units. Most affected staff will have 90 days to search for a new internal position. Beyond staff reductions, Amazon is also reshaping its retail operations. The company said on Tuesday that it will close its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go grocery formats, focusing instead on the Whole Foods chain. This change comes as Amazon tries to align spending with areas seen as more central to its future strategy and AI-related priorities.