Amazon Officially Announces Layoff Plans

Global e-commerce giant Amazon announced on the 28th that it plans to lay off approximately 14,000 employees to streamline operations and accelerate the deployment of artificial intelligence.

In a letter to employees that day, Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of People Experience and Technology, stated that artificial intelligence is the most transformative technology since the advent of the internet, enabling businesses to innovate at an unprecedented rate. The layoffs aim to make the company “even stronger” by reallocating resources to priority areas.

Amazon’s net sales reached $167.7 billion in the second quarter of this year, a 13% year-on-year increase. Galetti acknowledged that layoffs may raise questions given the company’s strong performance, but they are necessary because “the world is changing rapidly.” She stated that Amazon will continue to implement flatter organizational structures through 2026 to achieve efficiency gains while expanding hiring in key strategic areas.

Industry insiders believe that the rise of generative artificial intelligence is reshaping the workforce. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy stated in June that with the accelerated adoption of AI technology, the demand for headcount in some roles at the company is decreasing, while the demand for headcount in new roles is increasing.

According to US media reports on the 27th, Amazon has laid off more than 27,000 employees since 2022.

Amazon is the second-largest private employer in the United States. As of the end of the second quarter of this year, its global workforce exceeded 1.54 million, the majority of whom are warehouse workers, with approximately 350,000 company employees.