Amazon plans thousands more layoffs targeting 10% of workforce in new cuts

Amazon plans to cut thousands of jobs as part of a broader campaign to eliminate nearly 10% of the companies’ workforce, according to Reuters.

After initially cutting nearly 14,000 management jobs in October, Amazon is expected to launch a second round of layoffs affecting a similar number of employees, with a total target of about 30,000 jobs, though the scope may change, according to two sources cited by Reuters.

If the cuts are fully realized, they would mark the largest layoffs in Amazon’s history, surpassing the nearly 27,000 jobs the company cut in 2022.

According to Reuters, the layoffs could begin as early as next week and affect employees across Amazon Web Services, retail, HR (known internally as People Experience and Technology) and Prime Video.

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Reuters reported that the e-commerce giant linked the October cuts to the rise of AI software, saying in an internal message to employees that “this generation of AI is the most transformative technology we have seen since the Internet, and is enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before.”

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said last year that he expects the workforce at retail companies to diminish as a result of efficiencies brought about by the use of artificial intelligence.

But Jassy later told analysts during the company’s third-quarter earnings call that the layoffs were not financially driven or directly related to AI, but rather were the result of excessive bureaucracy, Reuters reported.

“You end up with a lot more people than you had before, and you end up with a lot more layers,” Jassy said.

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Workers at an Amazon office in Bellevue, Washington, on Thursday, July 18, 2024. (Grant Hindsley/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

In its internal letter sent in October, Amazon told employees they could remain on the payroll for about three months while looking for other job opportunities.

“We are working hard to support everyone whose role is impacted, including giving most employees 90 days to search for a new role internally (timing will vary based on local laws), and our hiring teams will prioritize internal candidates to help as many people as possible find new roles within Amazon,” the letter said.

This 90-day window is scheduled to end on Monday.

Jassy also launched an initiative last year to reduce the number of managers at the company by creating an anonymous complaint line to identify deficiencies, which he said generated nearly 1,500 responses and led to more than 450 process changes.

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Amazon plans to reduce the company’s workforce by thousands, by streamlining operations and cutting internal bureaucracy, according to a report. (Luc Charette/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)

Amazon did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.

FOX Business’ Bonnie Chu and Pilar Arias contributed to this report.