Amazon CEO Andy Jassy claims that the company’s latest layoffs, affecting 14,000 employees, were not about cutting costs or driven by AI.
“The announcement that we made a few days ago was not really financially driven, and it's not even really AI-driven, not right now at least,” he said. “It really — it's culture.”
Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, said in a blog post that the move was part of “reducing bureaucracy, removing layers, and shifting resources,” echoing Jassy’s earlier comments.
This is Amazon’s largest job cut since 27,000 roles were eliminated in 2022.
Also Read: Amazon India layoffs: Tech major may fire 800–1,000 staff under global job cuts
Jassy explained that rapid growth had added complexity, saying, “If you grow as fast as we did for several years — the size of the businesses, the number of people, the number of locations, the types of businesses you’re in — you end up with a lot more people than you had before, and you end up with a lot more layers.”
He added, “Sometimes, without realising it, you can weaken the ownership of the people doing the actual work. And it can slow you down.”
Despite the cuts, Galetti said Amazon will keep hiring in key areas while continuing to streamline operations. Jassy’s comments were made during the company’s earnings call, where it announced strong quarterly results, with sales up 13% to $180.2 billion and profit increasing 38% to $21.2 billion.
“The announcement that we made a few days ago was not really financially driven, and it's not even really AI-driven, not right now at least,” he said. “It really — it's culture.”
Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, said in a blog post that the move was part of “reducing bureaucracy, removing layers, and shifting resources,” echoing Jassy’s earlier comments.
This is Amazon’s largest job cut since 27,000 roles were eliminated in 2022.
Also Read: Amazon India layoffs: Tech major may fire 800–1,000 staff under global job cuts
Jassy explained that rapid growth had added complexity, saying, “If you grow as fast as we did for several years — the size of the businesses, the number of people, the number of locations, the types of businesses you’re in — you end up with a lot more people than you had before, and you end up with a lot more layers.”
He added, “Sometimes, without realising it, you can weaken the ownership of the people doing the actual work. And it can slow you down.”
Despite the cuts, Galetti said Amazon will keep hiring in key areas while continuing to streamline operations. Jassy’s comments were made during the company’s earnings call, where it announced strong quarterly results, with sales up 13% to $180.2 billion and profit increasing 38% to $21.2 billion.
