Amazon to cut 30,000 office jobs amid AI cost pressures

Seattle: Amazon plans to lay off around 30,000 office workers, according to multiple U.S. media reports, marking one of the company’s largest workforce reductions in years.

The job cuts, expected to begin Tuesday, represent nearly 10% of Amazon’s corporate staff but will not affect warehouse or delivery workers, who make up most of the firm’s 1.5 million employees.

The move is part of Amazon’s broader cost-cutting efforts as it invests heavily in artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline operations and enhance efficiency.

The Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported that the layoffs would focus mainly on office and administrative teams. Amazon has not commented publicly on the reports.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has said the company’s future depends on AI. “Our conviction that AI will change every customer experience is starting to play out,” he said during the company’s recent earnings call.

The company’s cloud arm, Amazon Web Services (AWS), is under pressure to prove that its AI investments can drive growth and profitability after a major outage earlier this month disrupted global internet services.

Amazon shares rose slightly on Monday as reports of the cost-cutting plan surfaced. The company is set to release its quarterly earnings on Thursday.