Global tech giant Amazon has announced plans to slash about 30,000 corporate positions as part of a massive restructuring strategy centered on artificial intelligence (AI) and cost efficiency.
According to multiple reports, the layoffs which represent nearly 10 percent of Amazon’s approximately 350,000 corporate roles are expected to begin this week. The company, however, clarified that warehouse and logistics staff, who make up the majority of its 1.5 million-strong global workforce, will not be affected.
The restructuring is reportedly part of CEO Andy Jassy’s long-term plan to streamline operations and eliminate redundant layers within the organization, while ramping up investment in AI technologies.
“Our conviction that AI will change every customer experience is starting to play out,” Jassy said during the company’s last earnings call.
Amazon’s latest workforce reduction comes as it faces growing pressure to justify its multibillion-dollar AI investments ahead of its next quarterly earnings report, scheduled for Thursday.
Industry analysts say investors will be watching closely to see whether Amazon Web Services (AWS) the company’s highly profitable cloud computing arm—can deliver stronger revenue growth and improved margins amid its heavy AI push.
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Despite the looming job cuts, Amazon’s shares ended slightly higher on Monday, reflecting investor optimism that the move signals renewed fiscal discipline and a sharper focus on long-term profitability.
The announcement also follows a major AWS outage last week that disrupted several popular online platforms and services worldwide. The outage, traced to a Domain Name System (DNS) issue, temporarily took down apps and websites including Prime Video, Disney+, WhatsApp, Signal, Fortnite, Airbnb, and Snapchat.
AWS later resolved the problem, but the incident underscored the extent of global dependence on Amazon’s cloud infrastructure and the potential ripple effects of technical failures in critical systems.