Amazon has announced a further 16,000 job cuts worldwide as it presses ahead with plans to slim down management levels and “cut red tape”, putting an unspecified number of UK jobs at risk.
The latest round of layoffs follows cuts to 14,000 white-collar jobs in October and is part of Amazon’s broader goal of cutting about 30,000 corporate jobs. While the majority of the new cuts will occur in the United States, teams in the United Kingdom and India will also be affected. Amazon employs around 75,000 people in the UK, but has not revealed how many UK jobs it could lose.
The cuts are expected to affect employees in Amazon Web Services, Prime Video, retail and human resources, also known internally as people experience and technology.
In a blog post to staff, Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, said the company was continuing a restructuring program first outlined last fall.
“As I shared in October, we have worked to strengthen our organization by reducing shifts, increasing ownership and reducing bureaucracy,” she said.
U.S.-based employees affected by the cuts will generally be given 90 days to seek alternative roles within the company, while for employees in other countries the timing will depend on local employment regulations, Galetti added.
Amazon has previously linked job cuts to the increasing use of artificial intelligence, calling the current wave of AI the most transformative technology since the internet. However, Andy Jassy downplayed the role of AI in the decision, telling analysts that the layoffs were primarily cultural, not financial.
“You end up with a lot more people than before, and you end up with a lot more shifts,” Jassy said during a recent earnings call.
The company has dramatically expanded its workforce during the Covid-19 pandemic to meet increasing demand for online shopping and digital services. Amazon now employs around 1.58 million people worldwide, the vast majority of whom work in warehouses and fulfillment centers rather than in corporate roles.
The current round of cuts is the largest in Amazon’s three-decade history and exceeds the 27,000 jobs eliminated in 2022. Amazon was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, who remains the company’s chairman and largest individual shareholder.
The announcement was met with criticism from unions. GMB organizer Rachel Fagan said the decision would have serious consequences for workers and communities.
“Amazon is showing itself for what it is – a company that working people in the UK cannot trust to do the right thing,” she said. “Thousands of job losses will cause great harm in cities across the country.
“Decision makers must recognize Amazon as a company focused on eye-watering profits at the expense of workers and local people.”
The latest layoffs underscore growing pressure on big tech companies to balance efficiency, automation and cost cutting, with their impact on employment and local economies coming under increasing scrutiny.
