Amazon has announced plans to eliminate 16,000 corporate roles globally, marking the company’s second major round of layoffs in four months, according to a media report. The latest cuts follow an earlier reduction of 14,000 positions in October, reflecting continued cost-cutting measures at the tech giant.
According to internal Slack messages cited by Business Insider, employees in the United States, the United Kingdom, and India are among those impacted. The messages reportedly indicate that multiple business units across regions have been affected.
Teams and Roles Impacted
The layoffs span several areas of Amazon’s operations, including key teams within Amazon Web Services (AWS). Affected units reportedly include the Bedrock AI cloud service, Redshift cloud data warehouse, and the ProServe consulting division.
Retail-focused teams have also been hit, including those working on the Prime subscription business and the last-mile Delivery Experience organisation, the report added.
Several employees who shared messages internally seeking new opportunities were reportedly working in software engineering and technical roles, suggesting a significant impact on Amazon’s technology workforce.
Support for Affected Employees
Amazon said it is offering most US-based employees a 90-day period to apply for other roles within the company. Employees who are unable to secure a new position, or choose not to pursue one, will be eligible for severance packages, including continued health insurance coverage.
While Amazon employs more than 1.5 million people globally, its corporate workforce accounts for approximately 350,000 employees, making the layoffs a significant development within that segment.
Layoff Details Surface Early
Details of the job cuts reportedly became public earlier than intended after a calendar invitation linked to one of Amazon’s senior executives appeared to inadvertently reveal information about the planned layoffs.
Amazon has not yet issued a detailed public breakdown of the reductions by geography or department.
