This week, Amazon plans to reduce its personnel once more. On January 27, the IT behemoth is reportedly contemplating a new round of layoffs that might affect some 16,000 workers worldwide. The action is anticipated to be a component of a larger restructuring initiative that may result in the elimination of almost 30,000 company positions by the middle of 2026.
Notably, it is anticipated that this round of cuts would affect a larger geographic area, with teams based in India likely to be more severely impacted than previously.
According to multiple reports and employee chatter on platforms such as Blind and Reddit, Amazon is expected to announce job cuts in coming days, with India-based teams likely to be among the hardest hit.
The layoffs are also expected to cut across departments, with employees in Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Prime Video said to be among those at risk. Amazon’s ongoing restructuring drive began in late 2025, when the company eliminated around 14,000 white-collar roles in October as part of the first phase of the exercise.
Amazon plans to cut 30,000 jobs?
According to a Reuters story, Amazon planned to eliminate some 30,000 corporate jobs by the end of 2025 as part of a larger reorganization initiative.
The company confirmed its intentions to eliminate some 14,000 positions in response to the reports. The corporation is now anticipated to implement the second round of job cuts, which might result in an additional 16,000 positions, bringing the total number of job losses close to 30,000.
If it occurs, it would exceed even the enormous 27,000 layoffs that Amazon implemented in 2022 and 2023. Even though Amazon employs almost 1.57 million people worldwide, its 350,000 white-collar corporate workers are still the target of these layoffs.
Who will it be impacted?
AWS, Prime Video, retail operations, and Amazon’s internal HR branch, People Experience and Technology (PXT), are among the major divisions that are anticipated to be impacted by the impending layoffs.
Indian business teams are thought to be particularly vulnerable at this time, especially those with headquarters in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai.
When will layoffs start?
The layoff process may start early in the week of January 27, according to internal communications and anonymous remarks made by Amazon employees on social media sites like Reddit, Blind, and LinkedIn.
According to a number of workers who posted on Blind, senior executives and supervisors have already alluded to upcoming layoffs. According to some, workers who are presently enrolled in performance improvement plans (PIPs) can be notified before the entire workforce.
Additionally, it has been reported that advance notices may already be in progress. According to earlier estimates, between 1,000 and 2,000 Amazon workers received WARN letters prior to the anticipated date of layoffs. Although Amazon has not formally verified any information regarding the timing or scope of the cuts, US law requires businesses to give such alerts prior to mass layoffs.
Reason behind layoffs?
According to Amazon, fundamental reform is currently more important than immediate cost reductions.CEO Andy Jassy has stated time and again that the layoffs are not really financially driven and not even really AI-driven, but rather are intended to address what he has called unnecessary bureaucracy and improve corporate culture. According to Jassy, Amazon’s quick growth over the years has resulted in several levels of management that impede creativity and decision-making.
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Nevertheless, one of the core components of Amazon’s restructuring plan is still artificial intelligence. The business has been actively automating internal procedures in customer service, software development, and human resources.
Amazon seems to be reducing levels of managerial and administrative positions in order to increase productivity, especially in teams that assist operations rather than actively produce goods or services.
