Amazon plans to cut up to 15% of its HR staff as part of a major AI-driven restructuring. CEO Andy Jassy focuses on automation and efficiency, signaling significant workforce changes.
Amazon is gearing up for a significant wave of layoffs, with plans to cut up to 15% of its human resources staff as part of a broader shift towards automation and artificial intelligence (AI). The company’s HR division, known internally as the People eXperience and Technology (PXT) team, is expected to face the most severe impact, though other departments within Amazon’s expansive consumer business may also see job reductions.
According to multiple sources cited by Fortune, the exact number of employees affected and the timing of the layoffs have yet to be confirmed. This move follows recent smaller-scale layoffs in Amazon’s consumer devices division, the Wondery podcast arm, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). However, this new round of cuts marks a deeper strategic restructuring aimed at increasing operational efficiency through AI-driven automation.
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Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy, who took over from Jeff Bezos in 2021, has clearly outlined the company’s ambitious AI vision. Under Jassy’s leadership, Amazon is investing over $100 billion this year in capital expenditures, focusing heavily on building advanced data centers to support AI infrastructure for both internal use and enterprise customers.
In a company-wide memo released in June, Jassy encouraged employees to embrace AI, stating: “Those who embrace this change, become conversant in AI, help us build and improve our AI capabilities internally and deliver for customers, will be well-positioned to have high impact and help us reinvent the company.” However, he also warned that these advancements would inevitably reduce Amazon’s corporate workforce due to efficiency gains.
Between 2022 and 2023, Amazon already executed the largest layoffs in its history, cutting approximately 27,000 corporate roles. Those reductions were primarily a response to pandemic-related overexpansion and evolving consumer habits. The current layoffs, however, are more forward-looking, emphasizing Amazon’s shift to a more AI-centric operating model.
Ironically, while Amazon prepares to downsize its white-collar workforce, it simultaneously announced plans to hire 250,000 seasonal workers across its US warehouses and logistics networks for the upcoming holiday season, reflecting the company’s ongoing demand for warehouse labor.
Jassy is known within Amazon for his strict focus on cost control and “unregretted attrition,” a management philosophy aiming to reduce the workforce in a way that minimizes impact on essential operations. Yet insiders note that this round of layoffs differs from regular attrition cycles, signaling a fundamental change in how Amazon manages its workforce.
As Amazon continues to embrace AI and automation, its human resources division faces significant upheaval, with many employees inside the PXT team anticipating the restructuring’s full impact. This latest development underscores Amazon’s drive to transform its business model and workforce in the era of artificial intelligence.