Amazon to Cut 16,000 Jobs Worldwide Amid AI Push

Amazon announces plans to cut 16,000 jobs worldwide as part of efforts to streamline operations and focus on technology growth.

January 29, 2026 – United States — Online retail and cloud computing giant Amazon announced Wednesday that it will cut 16,000 jobs worldwide as part of efforts to streamline its operations and prepare for a major expansion into artificial intelligence.

The layoffs follow earlier plans to reduce the workforce by 14,000 positions, bringing the total planned cuts to roughly 30,000 office jobs, or about 10 percent of Amazon’s 350,000 white-collar workforce. Warehouse and distribution employees, who make up the bulk of Amazon’s 1.5 million employees, will not be affected.

Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president, explained that the reductions are intended to “reduce layers, increase ownership, and remove bureaucracy,” emphasizing the company’s desire to create a leaner, more efficient organization. CEO Andy Jassy previously stated that the cuts are not linked to budget or AI spending but are instead aimed at improving company culture and decision-making.

Amazon did not provide a detailed breakdown of which divisions will be affected, saying only that every team will continue to assess its capacity to innovate and deliver for customers. Wherever possible, affected employees will be offered new positions within the company.

The move reflects a wider trend in big tech, with companies like Microsoft, Meta, HP, Oracle, and Dutch tech giant ASML also reducing management layers to remove organizational bloat following rapid hiring during the pandemic.

Despite the layoffs, Amazon is making significant investments in artificial intelligence, particularly through its cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services (AWS), which competes with Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. In December, the company announced plans to invest more than $35 billion in India, including AI-related projects.

Amazon is scheduled to release its full-year 2025 results on February 5, following a previous quarterly report in October, which showed $1.8 billion spent on severance costs related to earlier job cuts.

Bottom line: The company is trimming management layers to improve efficiency while continuing to invest heavily in AI, signaling its intent to remain a dominant player in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.