Amazon has announced a second round of layoffs, cutting approximately 16,000 jobs, as part of its ongoing restructuring efforts driven by a focus on artificial intelligence. This move follows an initial round of layoffs in October, which affected 14,000 employees, bringing the total number of job cuts to around 30,000. The combined layoffs account for roughly 10% of the company’s office workforce.
The tech giant attributed the layoffs to the need to “strengthen our organization by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy.” Despite the job cuts, Amazon plans to continue hiring and investing in strategic areas critical to its future. The company has also hinted at possible further workforce reductions.
According to reports, Amazon is planning to close its remaining brick-and-mortar Fresh grocery stores and Go markets, as well as discontinue its Amazon One biometric payment system. The layoffs mark the largest downsizing in the company’s history, surpassing the 2022-2023 cuts that eliminated 27,000 positions.
Amazon’s shift towards artificial intelligence has been a key driver of its restructuring efforts. The company has committed around $40 billion to four data center projects in the US since 2024, aiming to build up its infrastructure to compete with other industry players such as OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Meta, and others.
The announcement comes on the heels of another major US-based corporation, UPS, announcing plans to cut an additional 30,000 positions, largely due to scaling down its collaboration with Amazon. UPS had already eliminated 62,000 jobs last year and reported a net income of $5.57 billion in 2025, down from $5.78 billion in 2024.
The layoffs and restructuring efforts at Amazon and UPS reflect the changing landscape of the tech industry, with companies adapting to emerging technologies and shifting market demands. As Amazon continues to navigate its transformation, the impact of these changes on its workforce and the broader industry will be closely watched. With its commitment to investing in strategic areas, Amazon is poised to continue playing a major role in shaping the future of the tech sector.
