Amazon confirms around 14,000 layoffs planned

Melina Khan

USA TODAY

Amazon said on Oct.28 it is cutting thousands of corporate jobs, confirming reports that began circulating a day earlier.

A memo that was shared with employees and posted on the company’s website said the tech giant is targeting 'an overall reduction in our corporate workforce of approximately 14,000 roles.'

The message, signed by Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, indicated most of the affected employees will be offered 90 days to look for a new role within the company. Others who don’t remain with Amazon will be offered severance pay and other transition benefits, the memo said.

USA TODAY has reached out to Amazon for more information about the job cuts.

Reuters reported Amazon employees began receiving letters sent to their personal email addresses on the morning of Oct.28 informing them their jobs had been eliminated.

'You are no longer required to perform work on Amazon’s behalf,' said the email from Galetti to affected employees, who shared the email with Reuters.

Employees told Reuters some of the departments affected by the job cuts include devices, advertising, Prime Video, human resources and Amazon’s cloud computing unit Amazon Web Services.

As of December 2024, Amazon had about 1.5million full- and part-time employees, according to its annual report. Its corporate workforce includes roughly 350,000 employees.

On Oct.27, CNBC and Reuters, citing anonymous sources, reported that Amazon would be cutting up to 30,000 corporate jobs.

Galetti said in the memo that the cuts are 'further reducing bureaucracy, removing layers, and shifting resources' but acknowledged that 'some may ask why we’re reducing roles when the company is performing well.'

'We’re convicted that we need to be organized more leanly,' she said in the memo, 'with fewer layers and more ownership, to move as quickly as possible for our customers and business.'

She also cited the prevalence of artificial intelligence, saying it is 'enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before.'

The Oct.28 memo also cited an announcement earlier in 2025 that said the company expected to cut jobs as it continues implementing generative AI 'in the next few years.'

'As we roll out more Generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done,' a June 17 memo signed by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said. 'We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs.'

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, wrote a letter to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos highlighting concerns about the potential job losses due to automation.

The senator also asked Bezos what Amazon planned to do to provide severance pay and health care coverage to those who lose their jobs.

Contributing: James Powel, USA TODAY; Reuters