On Tuesday, Oct. 28, U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon announced plans to cut approximately 14,000 white-collar jobs globally, with additional layoffs expected next year. This marks the company’s largest organizational restructuring aimed at accelerating its artificial intelligence (AI) transformation.
According to Reuters, Amazon has already begun implementing cuts across multiple departments. Earlier reports suggested that the company could reduce as many as 30,000 positions. While Amazon has not confirmed a final figure, an internal email to employees indicated that further streamlining is expected.
Amazon said the layoffs are intended to address overexpansion during the pandemic and reduce costs ahead of the upcoming year-end shopping season. Executives described the moves as a structural adjustment in response to AI adoption, freeing up resources for future investments in AI and cloud computing.
CEO Andy Jassy had previously warned in June that as AI tools and intelligent agents become more widespread, certain roles within the company would inevitably be automated. As of the end of last year, Amazon employed roughly 1.56 million full-time and part-time workers, including approximately 350,000 white-collar staff.
Email notifications and 90-Day internal transfer opportunity
Multiple employees reportedly received layoff notices via personal email on Tuesday morning, which stated: “You are no longer required to perform work on behalf of Amazon.”
Success
You are now signed up for our newsletter
Success
Check your email to complete sign up
The emails were signed by Beth Galetti, Senior Vice President of Amazon’s People Experience & Technology division, and encouraged affected staff to discuss next steps with HR representatives via video calls.
Amazon said most affected employees will have a 90-day window for internal transfers, and the recruiting team will give them priority consideration.
CEO Jassy is also pushing to streamline management, cut bureaucratic procedures, and has launched an anonymous feedback hotline to gather efficiency improvement suggestions. The company has received 1,500 suggestions, leading to more than 450 process improvements.
This round of layoffs is Amazon’s largest since the reduction of 27,000 positions between late 2022 and early 2023.
Amazon continues multi-department restructuring through 2026
The layoffs affect multiple departments, including Devices, Advertising, Prime Video, Human Resources, Operations, the Alexa voice assistant, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Amazon has not disclosed the full list of affected units, providing details only via its website when asked.
Beth Galetti, Senior VP of People Experience & Technology, stated in the notification that the company plans to continue structural adjustments over the next two years, simultaneously hiring in some areas while reducing staff in others. Over the past two years, Amazon has already cut jobs in Books, Devices, and the Wondery podcast platform. She described the restructuring as a move to “make teams operate faster and more efficiently.”
By midday Tuesday, Amazon’s stock had risen 0.8 percent, bringing its year-to-date gain to roughly 3.5 percent, the weakest performance among the so-called “Magnificent 7” tech stocks.
The company expects capital expenditures this year to reach $118 billion, largely allocated to AI and cloud computing infrastructure. Amazon is scheduled to release its Q3 earnings on Thursday.
The AI-driven restructuring has sparked concerns in Washington. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on Tuesday called on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to clarify whether automation could lead to “hundreds of thousands of jobs disappearing.”
Additionally, two U.S. senators requested that Amazon explain why, amid large-scale layoffs, the company remains the largest employer of foreign H-1B visa holders in the United States.
Amazon is not alone: multiple multinational corporations have recently announced workforce reductions. The Independent compiled a list of the major companies reporting layoffs.
Global corporations continue major workforce reductions
UPS
Since the beginning of this year, United Parcel Service (UPS) has cut approximately 34,000 positions, surpassing its initial forecast of around 20,000. In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, the company also reported having closed 93 owned and leased operational facilities in the first nine months of the year.
Target
Last week, Target announced it would reduce roughly 1,800 corporate positions, about 8 percent of its global corporate workforce. COO Michael Fiddelke cited excessive layers and overlapping responsibilities that slowed decision-making. The retailer is seeking to rebuild its customer base after nine of the past eleven quarters saw same-store sales flat or declining.
Nestlé
In mid-October, the Swiss food and beverage giant announced plans to cut 16,000 jobs globally over the next two years as part of broader cost-reduction measures. Nestlé cited rising commodity prices and U.S. tariffs as factors behind recent price increases on coffee and cocoa products.
Lufthansa Group
In September, the German airline group said it would reduce 4,000 positions by 2030, driven by AI adoption, digitalization, and operational integration across its member airlines. Most cuts will affect administrative roles in Germany rather than frontline operations.
Novo Nordisk
The Danish pharmaceutical company announced in September plans to lay off 9,000 employees, about 11 percent of its workforce. The cuts are part of a broader restructuring effort aimed at expanding sales of obesity and diabetes medications, including Ozempic and Wegovy, amid intensifying competition.
ConocoPhillips
The U.S.-based oil company plans to reduce its global workforce by 20–25 percent. A company spokesperson confirmed on Sept. 3 that, based on roughly 13,000 employees, 2,600–3,250 positions would be affected. Most layoffs are expected to be completed by the end of 2025 to achieve cost-reduction goals.
Intel
To reverse business declines, Intel is planning cuts involving thousands of employees. CEO Lip-Bu Tan stated in a July memo that the company expects to reduce its “core” workforce (excluding subsidiaries) from 99,500 at the end of last year to roughly 75,000 by year-end, including both layoffs and natural attrition. Intel had previously announced a 15 percent reduction.
Microsoft
Microsoft initiated layoffs of approximately 6,000 employees in May, followed by another 9,000 cuts months later—the largest round in more than two years. The latest reductions affect Xbox and other divisions and are part of organizational adjustments, management streamlining, and continued AI investment.
Procter & Gamble
In June, the consumer goods giant said it would cut up to 7,000 positions globally over the next two years, roughly 6 percent of its workforce. The company described the layoffs as part of restructuring and cited tariff pressures. In July, P&G raised prices on about a quarter of its products to offset new import duties and expects the financial impact on FY2026 to be smaller than previously estimated.
By Gao Yun
