Amazon Confirms Cutting About 16,000 Roles in Latest Restructuring

Amazon will cut about 16,000 roles as part of a fresh round of organisational changes, the company announced on January 28.

This follows an email reportedly accidentally shared internally by Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience and technology at Amazon, announcing the layoffs.

“I want to let you know that we’re making additional organisational changes across Amazon that will impact some of our teammates,” Galetti said in a message to employees. She added that Amazon has been working to “reduce layers, increase ownership, and remove bureaucracy,” a process that many teams completed in October, while others finished more recently. The latest reductions apply to those teams.

According to the message, most US-based employees whose roles are impacted will be given 90 days to look for internal opportunities, with timelines varying in other countries based on local requirements. Employees who do not secure another role, or choose not to pursue one, will receive severance pay and other transition support.

She further added that Amazon will also provide “outplacement services, health insurance benefits (as applicable), and more.”

Despite the cuts, the company said it will continue hiring in areas it considers strategic. “We’ll also continue hiring and investing in strategic areas and functions that are critical to our future,” Galetti said. “We’re still in the early stages of building every one of our businesses.”

She also sought to reassure employees that no further rounds of company-wide reductions were planned. “Some of you might ask if this is the beginning of a new rhythm—where we announce broad reductions every few months. That’s not our plan,” she said.

Galetti said teams will continue to review their structure as business needs evolve. “Every team will continue to evaluate the ownership, speed, and capacity to invent for customers, and make adjustments as appropriate,” she said.