New Delhi: Amazon is laying off approximately 14,000 corporate workers, which CEO Andy Jassy terms a cultural reset, not an artificial intelligence or financial response. The repositioned move, he said, is to make the company leaner, faster and more agile, more like the one it used to be when it was a start-up. During the company quarterly earnings call, Jassy stated that the current round of cuts was not made due to panic, but rather an element of philosophy, a strategic decision of returning Amazon to its entrepreneurial DNA.

Jassy made it clear that Amazon is aimed at getting rid of bureaucracy and re-establishing ownership among workers. The corporate number of the company has grown obsessively over the last several years, particularly through the pandemic boom, and Jassy now acknowledges that the growth came at the expense of agility. He told us that we are determined to work as the biggest startup in the world, which is why he wants to restore the decision-making speed and adaptability at Amazon.

The point that Jassy makes is that the layoffs are efficiency-focused rather than automation-based. The number of employees in Amazon increased three times in 2017-22, introducing organisational levels that reduced the speed of decision-making. Jassy mentioned a two-way door philosophy of the company that decisions are meant to be reversed quickly, which then caused him to mention that there are too many layers that have crept in and dilute individual ownership. These latest cuts, he said, are intended to remove that excess and bring back that feeling of accountability and speed that once characterised the culture of Amazon.

Although some people thought that AI caused the layoffs, Jassy denied the idea. He claimed that the relocation is a component of an overhaul of the broader cultural theme, but not a cost-cutting or automation-focused effort. It was not a financially motivated announcement, and it is not even really AI-driven, not in the present, at least. This is aimed at flattening the organisation and lowering bureaucracy as well as making sure that teams are able to move fast due to the accelerated technological change.

The method used by Jassy resembles the initial years of Jeff Bezos – at the time when Amazon valued speed, innovation, and ownership more than hierarchy. Jassy has been in charge of several restructuring initiatives since his tenure of leadership, such as 27,000 layoffs in 2023, yet now regrets that further cultural overhaul is necessary. To the existing staff, the downsizing is a bitter pill, yet to Jassy, they are a form of a clean slate that will help Amazon become more start-up-focused and bold once again. Being lean, flat, and a fast mover, he said, is more important than ever, and that is an excellent line that best represents the new momentum of Amazon to be fast moving and change driven.