Amazon announced Tuesday it will eliminate 14,000 corporate positions as part of a restructuring effort designed to streamline its operations and adapt to rapid advances in artificial intelligence.
The cuts, which will primarily affect management and administrative roles, come as major corporations reassess how automation and AI are reshaping the white-collar workforce. In a blog post, Amazon Senior Vice President Beth Galetti said the company needs to “be organized more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership” to respond quickly to technological change and customer needs.
Galetti called AI “the most transformative technology since the Internet,” saying Amazon’s leadership is restructuring to move faster and innovate more efficiently. While the company plans to continue hiring in key growth areas in 2026, it will simultaneously trim jobs in other divisions to reduce bureaucracy and increase accountability.
The announcement follows weeks of speculation that Amazon could cut as many as 30,000 roles, though Tuesday’s figure came in lower than expected. The company’s move aligns with broader trends across corporate America, as firms including Target and Paramount Skydance announce layoffs tied to cost-cutting and technological transformation.
AI itself is not yet the direct cause of most job losses, but its influence is clear. Executives across industries are rethinking traditional hiring strategies as AI systems increasingly handle administrative, analytical, and creative tasks once reserved for human employees. Analysts note that many companies now treat hiring as a last resort rather than a default solution to expanding workloads.
Source: Axios