Amazon says it is laying off 16,000 employees

In a significant move, Amazon has revealed plans to eliminate 16,000 positions across its global operations. This announcement follows a previous layoff of 14,000 employees just three months earlier. Beth Galetti, Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology, communicated the decision in a letter to staff, emphasizing that the layoffs are part of a strategy aimed at simplifying the organizational structure, enhancing accountability, and minimizing bureaucratic processes. Galetti mentioned that the necessity for a second wave of layoffs stems from ongoing restructuring efforts within various teams. While she refrained from confirming the likelihood of future job cuts, she assured employees that the company is not aiming to establish a recurring pattern of mass reductions every few months. "Some of you might wonder if this marks the start of a new trend in which we announce significant layoffs periodically. That’s not our intention," she wrote in her blog post. Despite these reductions, Galetti noted that Amazon will continue to recruit in specific strategic areas. As of October, Amazon's workforce stood at approximately 1.57 million, and the company has recently experienced modest growth, recording single-digit increases over the past five quarters. The upcoming publication of its Q4 2025 financial results is highly anticipated. In light of advancements in artificial intelligence, CEO Andy Jassy previously highlighted a shift in workforce needs, indicating that fewer employees would be required for certain roles while creating demand for new job types. Furthermore, Amazon's corporate workforce is expected to shrink in the coming years due to these technological changes. Adding to the recent turmoil, an erroneous meeting invitation regarding job cuts and a so-called "Project Dawn" initiative was mistakenly sent to numerous AWS employees, causing confusion before its retraction. Additionally, Amazon has announced plans to close several physical Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores as it pivots to enhance its same-day grocery delivery capacity, while also expanding the Whole Foods brand with the opening of 100 new stores in the near future.