Amazon to Reduce Corporate Headcount by 30,000 as Cost Cuts Intensify

Amazon has launched a plan to eliminate roughly 30,000 corporate roles starting Tuesday, Reuters reports, marking one of its largest workforce reductions since the 27,000 layoffs spanning late 2022 to early 2023.

Although the cuts represent a small share of Amazon’s roughly 1.55 million global employees, they amount to nearly 10% of the company’s 350,000 corporate workforce, underscoring management’s move to lower overhead after pandemic-era expansion.

Reports indicate that human resources could be disproportionately affected, with as many as 15% of HR positions potentially on the line, and additional reductions expected across multiple departments.

Units Likely to Be Hit

The layoffs are expected to impact several divisions, including:

• Human Resources (People Experience and Technology)

• Devices and Services

• Operations

Managers in affected areas received guidance on Tuesday to manage communications with staff, and initial notification emails began going out the same day. The final tally of job cuts could shift as the company refines its financial priorities.

Ongoing Workforce Rebalancing

The company has been trimming roles across units for the past two years, quietly reducing staff in areas such as devices, communications and podcasting.

Recent specific reductions included about 110 positions at the Wondery podcast unit, several hundred roles in an AWS cloud team in July 2025, and nearly 100 jobs cut in the devices and services group in May.

Leadership Push to Simplify Structure

CEO Andy Jassy has focused on flattening bureaucracy and increasing agility. An internal feedback initiative reportedly gathered more than 1,500 submissions and led to around 450 changes in internal processes.

Jassy has also highlighted automation’s expanding role at Amazon, saying AI tools will displace repetitive tasks and urging employees to reskill to remain competitive.

Seasonal Hiring and Market Reaction

Despite these corporate cuts, Amazon plans to recruit 250,000 temporary workers for the upcoming holiday period to meet heightened consumer demand.

On Monday, Amazon shares climbed 1.3% to $227.11 ahead of its third-quarter earnings report.

Wider Tech Industry Context

The move follows a broader trend of job reductions in the technology sector. Layoffs.fyi data show nearly 98,000 tech roles eliminated in 2025 across 216 companies, after roughly 153,000 cuts in 2024.

As Amazon doubles down on automation and leaner structures, this latest round of reductions highlights how large employers are recalibrating headcount in the evolving AI-driven landscape.