SEATTLE, Washington – Amazon revealed a major round of job cuts on January 28, 2026, which removed about 16,000 corporate positions. This cleanup follows a previous reduction of 14,000 roles. These two events mark the biggest workforce decrease in the history of the company. Amazon currently employs nearly 1.58 million people, but these cuts mostly target the 350,000 employees in its office divisions.
Beth Galetti, the Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology, shared the news through an internal note and a public blog post. She explained that the company wants to move faster by removing unnecessary management layers. While she admitted the news is painful for those involved, she promised that the company will provide help to everyone leaving.
Why Amazon Is Changing Its Structure
These Amazon layoffs are part of a larger plan by CEO Andy Jassy to make the tech giant operate more like a small startup. Since he took the lead in 2021, Jassy has worked to make the company move with more agility. The goal is to stop spending on old processes and put that money into high-priority tech like artificial intelligence.
In her message, Galetti noted that some teams finished their changes last year, but others needed more time in early 2026. Amazon hasn’t named every group getting cut, but sources point to AWS, the Alexa team, and other tech branches. Some employees even claimed that AI tools helped choose which teams to cut by reviewing Slack messages, though the company hasn’t confirmed this.
This move fits a trend across the tech world. Even when profits are high, companies are cutting costs to stay ahead in the AI race. Amazon is still making good money from its online store, cloud services, and ads, but building AI requires a lot of cash for data centers and specialized chips.
Shifts in Strategy and Culture
Executives say these cuts aren’t because the company is struggling for money. Instead, they want to spend more on AI to keep up with rivals like Google and Microsoft. Analysts believe the pressure to win in generative AI is forcing Amazon to find savings in other departments.
During the October cuts, Jassy mentioned that some parts of the company didn’t fit the original culture anymore. He also hinted that AI is starting to do some work that people used to do. The company says these aren’t temporary fixes for a bad economy; they’re permanent changes to stay on top.
Support for Departing Employees
Workers found out about the layoffs early on January 28. Many received texts or emails before the official company memo went out. Amazon is offering severance pay and help finding new work for those in the U.S. Impacted staff also get three months to look for a different job inside the company.
Social media platforms like LinkedIn quickly filled with posts from former employees. Many shared their sadness about leaving long careers so suddenly. In Seattle, where Amazon is based, local shops and cafes are worried that having fewer tech workers will hurt their sales.
What Happens Next for Amazon
Amazon says it doesn’t plan to make these massive layoffs a regular habit. The company is still hiring in areas like robotics and Prime services. Some critics don’t like seeing job cuts while profits are hitting record highs, suggesting the company cares more about investors than staff. However, supporters think these tough choices are necessary for the company to lead in an AI-focused future.
As the tech world changes, these layoffs show how volatile even the biggest companies can be. Amazon is betting its future on automation and efficiency. It remains to be seen how these changes will affect the company’s long-term success.
