Amazon layoffs: Which departments may get impacted as tech giant confirms 16,000 job cuts? Check here

E-commerce giant Amazon has confirmed that it will cut 16,000 jobs worldwide over the next three months as part of its restructuring and expansion plans in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).

Amazon will provide U.S.-based employees 90 days to find a new position within the company, as well as severance pay and additional support during their transition, Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of human experience and technology, announced in a blog post Wednesday.

“We are working to strengthen our organization by reducing layers, increasing ownership and eliminating bureaucracy,” Galetti said.

The layoffs come just months after the company announced it would eliminate 14,000 positions. These layoffs mirror ongoing layoffs Amazon is making in late 2022 and early 2023, affecting approximately 27,000 employees.

The company is planning a second round of layoffs as part of its broader strategy to cut nearly 30,000 corporate roles within the organization, according to a report by Reuters.

Which departments will be affected?

The report stated that employees in Amazon Web Services, retail, Prime Video and People Experience and Technology HR units are likely to be affected by this situation.

Despite these changes, Amazon announced that it will continue to hire and invest in key strategic areas that are vital to our future growth.

“We are working to strengthen our organization by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing red tape. While many teams completed their organizational changes in October, other teams have not completed this work until now,” the blog post read.

Amazon’s first layoffs in October were attributed to increased use of AI software, with an internal memo stating: “This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the internet, allowing companies to innovate faster than ever before.”

CEO Andy Jassy later told analysts during the company’s third-quarter earnings call that the decline “wasn’t really driven by financials, it wasn’t even really driven by AI,” but rather “it’s a culture.”

The 30,000 jobs represent a small fraction of Amazon’s 1.58 million employees and make up about 10% of its corporate workforce. The majority of Amazon staff are located in fulfillment centers and warehouses.